Family members were devastated at the loss of a man suspected to have set fire to the Midway Town Hall on Sunday and who was later found dead of an apparent suicide.
"He was an unbelievable man," said Gerald Carr, brother-in-law to Kevin Horvat, 45, who was found Monday morning on the 5500 block of Hermantown Road in Hermantown. "But the disease and the medication took an unbelievable toll on him."
Up until three years ago, Carr said Horvat was a beloved teacher and football coach at Red Wing (Minn.) High School, twice given the award for the school's teacher of the year and nominated by his peers for the statewide teacher of the year award. But Horvat was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which Carr said aggressively debilitated Horvat. A year later, Horvat could teach only part time. A year after that, Horvat couldn't teach at all, so he moved in January to an adult foster care home run by his family on the 5600 block of Halie Road in Duluth, Carr said.
"We could safely house him here and we had staff to be with him 24/7," Carr said.
Horvat was scheduled to undergo brain surgery at the Mayo Clinic, but for some reason he took his sister's car Saturday night and didn't have his medication. Carr said without it, Horvat's mental health probably deteriorated rapidly. On Sunday, Horvat was suspected of setting fire to the Midway Town Hall, which sustained heavy damage on the inside. Horvat's vehicle was spotted leaving the scene, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.
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Carr said family members aren't sure why he would have set fire to the building.
"That doesn't make sense," Carr said.
Horvat had seven siblings and is survived by both of his parents, Carr said.
County sheriff's Sgt. Wade Rasch said Horvat's death is being investigated by the Hermantown police department, but that it was caused by a self-inflicted wound that was not a firearm.
