Odd circumstances surround the death of a Georgia man found in a vacant lot rolled up inside of a carpet and wrapped in plastic.
However, police are saying they have found no signs of foul play so far during the investigation of Nathan Millard’s death.
“The preliminary results of an autopsy conducted by the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office revealed no evidence of internal or external trauma,” Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy J. Paul, Jr. said.
BRPD Sgt. L’Jean McKneely clarified that statement, telling the outlet in a statement: “Foul play was pertaining to the way that he died, not to the entire incident as a whole. He didn’t die from blunt force trauma, he didn’t die from stabbing, and he didn’t die from shooting.”
“Final autopsy results are pending further studies, including toxicology testing. Millard’s cause and manner of death are pending completion of the final autopsy report,” added the police chief.
The body of 42-year-old Millard, a husband and father of five, was found just after 3:30 a.m. on March 6 near Scenic Highway in Baton Rouge.
His remains, which were severely decomposed, were spotted by a passerby rolled up in a carpet and wrapped in plastic in a vacant lot.
Baton Rouge Police Captain Kevin Heinz told the media, “Investigators are still trying to figure out how he ended up there. It does appear that he was left there, that that’s most likely not where he died. I don’t want to go into details on our investigative efforts, but efforts are underway to locate and to talk to whoever may have put him there.”
Millard’s family said they believe he likely died of an accidental overdose.
During the press conference, Heinz refused to comment on reports that drugs were involved in Millard’s death.
“We will ask whoever put him there if something happened, if there was a moment of panic, come forward. We just want to know what happened to him,” Heinz said.
Millard was reported missing on Feb. 23 after leaving Happy’s Irish Pub on Third Street in downtown Baton Rouge alone on the night of Feb. 22.
His wife, Amber Millard said, “My husband disappeared while on a business trip with a client for his company Advanced Construction, which is based out of Conyers, Georgia.”
On Tuesday, Heinz outlined what police believe were Millard’s final moments.
Heinz said that surveillance video shows Millard going to a Greyhound bus station some time after leaving the bar that night.
At the bus stop, he made contact with a security guard who offered to get him a ride, but Millard declined. Heinz added that Millard did not appear to be in distress and left on his own accord.
Heinz said that Millard was last seen on the surveillance footage around 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 23. He never made it back to his hotel, the Courtyard Marriott, officials said.
The client with whom Millard apparently spent time at the bar requested a welfare check the next morning when Millard failed to show up for a scheduled meeting.
Millard’s phone and wallet were later found discarded several blocks away from his hotel.
Amber Millard said, “I last spoke to my husband earlier in the day on a video call during a college basketball game he was attending with a client before they were supposed to head to a bar.”
“It’s a nightmare I want to wake up from,” Amber added.
Millard leaves behind his wife and five children, the youngest of whom is 7 years old. The investigation still remains ongoing.
Police did say they have a person of interest from a lead during the investigation.
Police named 42-year-old Derrick Perkins, who is wanted for probation violation, criminal damage to property three counts of access device fraud and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
“Perkins is also needed for questioning in the Nathan Millard missing person case investigation. Perkins was last seen in the South Baton Rouge area driving a 2003 Toyota Camry,” The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.
