The remains of man who disappeared on Christmas Eve last year were discovered Yesterday inside the chimney of his own residence.
David Milbury, a father of three from Athens in Ohio, was reported missing on Christmas last year after he left the house to “prepare a surprise”.
A police investigation had been launched but, despite the help of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI, it hadn’t been able to locate the missing man.
Yesterday, his wife hired a professional sweeper to clean their house’s chimney and the poor man made a gruesome discovery.
In an interview with ABC, Jonas Forsythe said that what he saw in this chimney would haunt him for the rest of his life.
“I began sweeping as usual, but something was stuck in the vent. I pushed really hard, and I heard a loud noise. I came down to see what it was, and I saw that a body wearing a Santa costume had fallen in the fireplace.”
Despite the corpse’s state, it was rapidly identified thanks to a tattoo on its forearm and its wedding ring, which is a 240-year old family heirloom.
“His skin looked a bit like beef jerky, but you could still kinda recognize him. His wife was screamed in horror when she saw him, and then she fainted.”
His Santa Claus costume and the red velvet bag full of wrapped Christmas present that was discovered next to the body suggest that Mr. Milbury
According to Athens police chief, Captain Tom Pichito, the victim’s Santa Claus costume and the red velvet bag full of wrapped Christmas present that was discovered next to his body suggest that Mr. Milbury has probably been there since his disappearance on Christmas Eve last year.
He believes that the 41-year old man probably tried to slide down the chimney like Santa Claus, but got stuck and almost certainly died of dehydration a few days later.
An autopsy has been demanded, but Captain Pichito says the police is “99% certain” that this unusual death was accidental.
