State medical investigators say a 22-year-old student from University of Wisconsin-Madison whose burned body was found in a Las Cruces culvert last November committed suicide by setting himself on fire, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting.

Michael J. Mowers was found Nov. 21 in a culvert leading to a canal near Calle de Alegra off South Main Street, the Sun-News said.

The state Office of the Medical Investigator said in a report that chemicals commonly found in lacquer, paint remover and other fire accelerants were found on Mowers' body, according to the Sun-News.

The report said Mower had recently returned to college after a stint in the military, in which he was honorably discharged from the Navy because of a "pre-existing personality disorder," the paper said.

"He is reported to have had some difficulty in adjusting to college and was upset with his friends for not keeping in touch with him," the report said. "Prior to leaving Wisconsin he is reported to have told friends that he `would disappear out West.'" 

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