Body found at State Capitol during rededication ceremony

KSL-TV, Salt Lake City ^ | January 4th, 2008 @ 6:00pm | Sarah Dallof and Andrew Adams

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

A body of a construction worker was found in a crawl space during the State Capitol rededication ceremony.

We don't know how the man died, but investigators say there are no obvious signs of foul play. The man's body was found by a co-worker, actually during the rededication ceremony. His body was found in a crawl space in the sub-basement.

Doug Welling, president of Jacobsen Construction, said, "It's very, very confined, it's difficult to get into. It's a very large area, and I could see how somebody could get down there and not be discovered for some time."

Jacobsen Construction says the man did check in for work this morning and was found dead just hours later. He was a contractor, more specifically a plumber.

He has been identified by his co-workers. They are not, however, releasing his identity until his family is notified. We have heard the man was 30 years old.

Welling said this is the first fatality they've had on this job, and they've worked construction on this job for three years.

UHP trooper Cameron Roden says, right now, it's a mystery as to how the man died. "We don't have a cause of death--they were looking at everything--we don't have any indicators of foul play, but we want to make sure we do a thorough investigation. So, we're into everything," he said.

The Capitol falls under the jurisdiction of the state, which means the Utah Highway Patrol is responsible for this investigation, not the Salt Lake Police Department.

We will be sure to bring you the latest on the Utah Highway Patrol's investigation as we learn it.

[devane617]

I was wrong about the plumber being an illegal. Here is a link to a newpaper article in SLC Trib:

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7888990
A 30-year-old construction worker was found dead Friday in the basement of the Utah State Capitol just prior to a rededication ceremony for the newly renovated building. Construction workers found the man - a plumber who works for Jacobsen Construction - in a sub-basement area of the building, described as a "narrow crawl space" by Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Cameron Roden. He was identified as John David Walsh, of Riverdale.

[1rudeboy]

I appreciate you coming back. I thought that you were engaged in the all-too-typical FR thread hijacking.

[devane617]

Nope...heard a brief blurb elsewhere that it may have been an illegal...

[maine-iac7]

good on you - refreshing -