The body of a man who was charged with setting a home on fire in the city of Eureka and who was suspected of blowing up a different home in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka was recovered from the Meramec River earlier this week, Eureka Police reported.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol recovered the body of Nicholas Combs, 39, of Eureka Tuesday, July 9, from the river near George Winter Park, 401 Allen Road, in the Fenton area. The St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body today, July 11, according to the Eureka Police.
Capt. Michael Werges said today that the cause of death was not known.
The Eureka Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had been searching for Combs since the end of June. On June 29, he allegedly attempted to set fire to a house on White Dove Court in the city of Eureka. He also was suspected of blowing up a home on River Ends Drive in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka on June 28.
Combs was last seen on July 2, when he allegedly broke into a cellar at a home in the 3300 block of White Oak School Road in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The homeowner called the police at about 1:40 a.m. after he found Combs in his cellar, the report said.
Undersheriff Tim Whitney said Combs was naked and appeared to be cleaning himself in the cellar.
“He had moved the washer and dryer and was trying to wash himself off with one of the water lines,” Whitney said.
On July 1, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Combs with two counts of first-degree arson for allegedly setting the Eureka home on fire. Each of the charges is a class B felony that carries a penalty of five to 15 years in prison.
He had not been charged for allegedly blowing up the home in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka, according to court documents.
A warrant had been issued for his arrest with a $500,000 cash-only bond.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, Combs was arguing with a woman on June 28 at the home on River Ends Drive and told her he was going to blow up the home.
Eureka Fire Protection District crews were dispatched at 11:16 p.m. June 28 to the home after it exploded, Eureka Fire Assistant Chief Scott Barthelmass said.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Brian Taylor said a man, woman and child lived at the residence but were not home at the time of the explosion. He said the woman and child were located after the explosion, but the man had not been found.
The probable-cause statement also said the woman Combs argued with went to the house on White Dove Court, and Combs allegedly told the woman he was going to burn that home down.
On June 29, Combs allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails at the home. One of the Molotov cocktails exploded next to a wall of the home, burning the wall and an air-conditioning unit. Another Molotov cocktail was recovered from the roof of the home after it did not explode, the report said.
Two people were in the home when the fire started, but no one was injured, Eureka Police reported.
Combs was on probation for a burglary after being found guilty in St. Louis County in 2019. He also had been found guilty of another burglary, assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon in Missouri, as well as for manufacturing a controlled substance in Arkansas, according to the probable-cause statement.