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‘Keep his memory alive:’ Family opens up about Cocoa man’s electrocution last year

Robert Lee, 42, killed while working on fractal burning

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Eight months after a man was electrocuted at his home, the family of Robert Lee said the 42-year-old man was working on a wood-burning art that uses high voltages, called “fractal burning.”

Rescuers were dispatched to Lake Drive on July 4 last year, but on that day it was too late.

“There were a lot of sheriffs out here. They had a blue tarp over his body,” sister-in-law Sonya Diesch said.

Diesch showed News 6 one of Lee’s other works with burning wood that the family kept after he died.

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“He was all proud of it, and I thought it was cute,” Diesch said. “I figured that’s a good way to remember him, keep his memory alive.”

A fractal-burning Facebook group includes a few thousand hobbyists and enthusiasts.

An Inside Edition report in 2022 said at least 33 Americans have died from fractal burning.

The sheriff’s office said that when Lee was electrocuted, he thought the intense current of electricity was off.

Diesch said she feels lonely without her brother-in-law around anymore.

“He was so kind to me,” she said. “I just felt safe with him here.”

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About the Author
James Sparvero headshot

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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