A five day hunt for a missing northern Colorado man ended when his decomposing body was discovered in a locked movie theater bathroom. Click below to read the rest.
Fort Collins authorities say George DeGrazio, 66, of Loveland, died of a heart attack inside the locked family restroom of the Cinemark theater on Jan. 9, the same day his family reported him missing.
Ticket-takers broke down the bathroom door on Saturday after noticing a sickening smell, authorities said.
An autopsy showed that DeGrazio died from a heart attack caused by severe coronary artery disease.
DeGrazio’s anguished family slammed the theater management for not doing more to find their father after his red Nissan Xterra was found in the movie house’s lot on Wednesday.
“If I had the police department saying somebody disappeared in this area and we’re trying to locate him, I would be searching every nook and cranny of my establishment,” DeGrazio’s son, Dylan, told location station KMGH. “But that didn’t happen.”
Dylan DeGrazio said he continues to be haunted by the way his father died.
“I picture him just sitting there in this, like, slumped over, eyes-open position,” he told the station.
“That’s just the sheer reality of it. For somebody who didn’t know George, that is just a corpse rotting in a bathroom, and that disgusts me,” he said.
Cinemark said in a statement Monday that five employees were placed on leave after the incident.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the DeGrazio family during this difficult period as they mourn the loss of a loved family member,” the theater said.
Police were not investigating the incident and no charges were expected to be filed because DeGrazio died of natural causes, KMGH said.
