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THE position that a missing dad’s body was found in may cause difficulties when figuring out the truth behind his death, a forensic expert has revealed.
Nathan Millard, a 42-year-old construction executive from Georgia was found dead, wrapped in plastic and a rug, on March 6.
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The husband and father of five was on a short business trip in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when he disappeared on February 22.
Millard was last spotted that night at Happy’s Irish Pub, about three miles away from the vacant lot where his body was discovered over a week later.
His body was located by a passerby who called 911 after “smelling a foul odor” in the area.
An autopsy confirmed Millard had “no evidence of internal or external trauma” after his death.
And police believe there was no foul play involved in the Millard case.
However, a final autopsy report is pending a toxicology result.
Joseph Scott Morgan, a distinguished Scholar of Applied Forensics at Jacksonville State University, exclusively told The U.S. Sun that the position Millard was found in and the time he might’ve been there will have an effect on his autopsy.
“Keep in mind, he was wrapped in plastic, he was wrapped in carpet,” said Morgan, who also hosts the true-crime podcast Body Bags.
“What happens particularly in south Louisiana … that environment down there is particularly harsh.
“Things decompose a bit quicker than they do in other locations,” he explained.
Morgan said that the “cocooned” position of Millard’s body can affect the decomposition process.
“The fact that his body is kind of cocooned like this is significant because that cocooning and the heat that comes along with that can kind of speed up the process of decomposition,” he said.
Speaking of the toxicology report, Morgan said that the number of days that Millard was missing is “going to impact how long it takes the [report] to get back because he’s in an early state of decomposition.
“It could complicate matters a bit when you’re sending the tox samples off to be analyzed,” he said.
PERSON OF INTEREST
Police arrested a person of interest in Millard’s disappearance and death on Monday evening.
Derrick Perkins, 45, was arrested in Baton Rouge nearly a week after cops released a photo of the suspect they wanted to speak to regarding Millard’s case.
While it’s still unclear who could’ve wrapped Millard’s body up, Morgan said there was “a level of respect” in the act.
He said that “there is a level of respect and memorialization that’s going on with [Millard’s] body.”
Morgan believes Millard’s death wasn’t related to an act of violence.
“If this was something that was related to an act of just anger and animosity toward an individual, they would take the body, drive down the road, and just toss that body like it was something less than human,” Morgan explained.
He added: “But with this, you’ve got somebody that actually took time to get a piece of plastic and wrap the body.”
DAD DISAPPEARS
Millard was last seen on February 22 after he went to a Louisiana State University basketball game and Happy’s Irish Pub in the downtown area with a client.
During the search for her husband, Millard’s wife, Amber, recalled how Millard FaceTimed her to show her the seats he and his client bagged for the game.
“It was not anything I ever thought would be my last call,” Amber told WXIA.
He was seen exiting the bar at around 11.30pm that night and was captured on surveillance walking toward the Courtyard Marriott hotel, where he was staying, about two minutes away by foot.
His client raised alarm for Millard after they were supposed to meet up at a job site the following morning at 8am.
By 9am local time, there was still no sign of Millard, and the client decided to go to the hotel and request a wellness check, his wife Amber told WXIA.
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