What would do if you went outside and found a dead body? Would you report the dead body to the proper authorities or would you simply ignore it? Here’s what one man in St. Petersburg, Florida did.
The 61-year-old desk clerk mistook the body of a 96-year-old woman who committed suicide for a mannequin and placed it in a dumpster with the help of a newspaper delivery boy, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Here’s how the story breaks down.
The desk clerk went to take a smoke break and that is when he saw the body in the building’s parking lot. This was at approximately 4:30 in the morning. With it being April 1st, the clerk thought someone was playing an April Fools’ Day prank and returned to work, police said. Two hours later, another apartment building employee arrived and alerted the clerk to the body. He told her it was a prank.
That’s when the desk clerk decided to dispose of the body in the dumpster with the help of a 16-year-old boy delivering newspapers. Police said that the clerk thought the body was a mannequin with fake blood.
About 8 a.m., an apartment maintenance worker found the body and realized that it was no prank and in fact that of a human.
Friends and residents of the Petersborough Apartments for Seniors were shocked by the news.
“Most people that are looking at this are going to assume that these people are all fools, but honestly it does appear that this was just an honest mistake,” said Mike Puetz, St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman.
The St. Petersburg Police Department said due to the time of day the body was first spotted, darkness could have played a huge role in their confusion. They also believe the body was distorted from the impact and rigor mortis had more than likely set in.
Police said the 96-year old woman was very depressed and left a suicide note in her apartment before she jumped from her window on the building’s 16th floor.
According to police, the 61-year old desk clerk was fired as a result of this incident. No criminal charges were filed.
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