The family of an elderly man who was found dead in a movie theater bathroom five days after he was reported missing is furious at the theater for not finding him after police asked the management to search the place.
George DeGrazio’s decomposing corpse was discovered after employees of the Colorado Cinemark 5 in Fort Collins noticed a foul smell.
Dylan DeGrazio, the dead man’s son, told ABC affiliate KMGH, “I picture him just sitting there in this, like, slumped over, eyes-open position…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. That disgusts me.”
George DeGrazio, of Loveland, Colo., was reported missing on Jan. 9. His body was discovered on Jan. 14. His family is speaking out now, angry that it took so long to find the body. Police had questioned local businesses earlier that week after DeGrazio’s red Nissan XTerra was found in a nearby parking lot.
“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,” Dylan DeGrazio said.
The Colorado State Health Code requires that theaters empty the trash cans in their restrooms at least once a day, something this Cinemark clearly failed to do, only finding the body after a theater employee noticed the smell, prompting managers to open the locked door.
Cinemark released a statement on Monday saying, “Cinemark is working closely with the Fort Collins Police and Loveland Missing Persons Department on this case. As the case is ongoing, we are not able to discuss the details of the investigation at this time. 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 statement provided little comfort to the DeGrazios.
“I’d love to see them step up and actually take some responsibility. I’d love to see them step up and say, ‘Hey, you know, there was a mistake made here and a poor man suffered an indignity that no person should suffer. He will be missed and we need to find some sort of justice for what’s happened to him.”
An autopsy showed the DeGrazio died of a heart attack brought on by severe coronary artery disease.