The Associated Press
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (AP) - A man found dead inside an unmarked police car in June died of heat stroke, a police detective said.
The decomposing body of Joseph Wendell Lowe was found in June inside a Chevrolet Caprice police car that had been used for two years as a “stolen vehicle deterrent” to entice criminals to steal it and be captured in the act.
Police would not say whether the 30-year-old unemployed construction worker was trapped inside the car, which was parked inside a fenced-in police parking lot, said Lt. Bobby Brantley. Police also do not know why Lowe was inside the car.
The car would be placed in the open to see if anyone would steal it. Officers would watch the car and if someone tried to steal it, officers could push a button that would shut the car down and lock all the doors, said Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans.
When the remote control was tested, it locked all the doors except the driver’s side door, which is believed to be the door Lowe used to enter the car, Brantley said.
Police said in June that investigators were trying to determine if the internal locking system was still operational and somehow was triggered when Lowe entered the vehicle.