Body in car identified as Gainesville engineer

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20090225/ARTICLES/902250971/0/GATORS01


snipped from article:

"The identity of man found dead inside a car in College Park on Monday afternoon has been confirmed as that of a Gainesville engineer missing since Feb. 11.

Now city employees are answering questions about why the man's car was ticketed seven times by city employees, beginning the day after he was last seen alive.
Gainesville police said that a preliminary autopsy on the body found in the backseat of the 2001 silver BMW 330i confirmed that it was John Waldo, 42, an engineer at AvMed, who was last seen alive Feb. 11 at Calico Jack's Oyster Bar, 3502 SW 2nd Ave., in Gainesville."

Here's video of incident:

This fellow went Missing the week of Haleigh's disappearance (2/11) and has been found deceased in his BMW.

Corpse found in car ticketed 7 times

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090227/ARTICLES/902261015/0/GUARDIAN

From the article:

"Officers want to know how John Waldo, 42, got from Calico Jack's Oyster Bar on SW 2nd Avenue and ended up dead in the backseat of his 2001 silver BMW 330i in College Park.

Waldo was last seen alive at the business on Feb. 11.

Currently police are focusing on information that Waldo left the business with a few people.

Key issues in the investigation are pending toxicology results from an autopsy and information from people who were last with Waldo. Lt. Will Halvosa confirmed those people included two men but said he couldn't immediately discuss additional details of the investigation."

more info at link

Great...... =( Wondering how in the the heck I haven't heard about this...and I'm down the street!!!!

"An autopsy did not turn up an obvious cause of death, so police and the medical examiner's office are awaiting toxicology results, which may take another five or six weeks."

It's very sad his son cannot attend the funeral (which will be down the street from the jail...looks like he had a technical parole violation...and the family can't pay for deputies to escort him to the funeral since his father did not have a will (has to go through probate, so money cannot be used to attend). I think he should be allowed to go. The city bills for everything else...and they'll obviously get their money back...can't they just have a promissory note against his Dad's estate? Very sad.

This quotation and funeral plans can be found in this article:http://www.gainesville.com/article/...2?Title=Funeral-set-for-man-found-dead-in-car

I agree. Exceptions are made for everything else why not let him go to his dad's funeral? Couldn't they put some type of lien on his future earnings to pay back the city?

Truthful Lies said:

"An autopsy did not turn up an obvious cause of death, so police and the medical examiner's office are awaiting toxicology results, which may take another five or six weeks."

Click to expand...

Death could be intoxicant related I guess. Guy gets drunk/high, stumbles to his car, manages to climb into the back seat either intentionally (to sleep it off) or is too intoxicated to tell drivers seat from back seat, passes out and ultimately dies, perhaps of heart failure or heat stroke. 42 is young for a heart attack but maybe he had a health condition that made him oversensitive to drugs, or something similar?

Well, you only go to Calico Jack's for oysters or to drink, really. I'm guessing at his age, oysters. I wonder if that had anything to do with it...wonder if he had an allergic reaction or something....

EDIT: I guess it would have been apparent if he had died from anaphylaxis...so I guess I'm back to guessing...

Truthful Lies said:

EDIT: I guess it would have been apparent if he had died from anaphylaxis...so I guess I'm back to guessing...

Click to expand...

Yeah I had the same thought, but on second thought I'm not sure anaphylactic shock symptoms are easy to detect that long after death. Tissue degradation may have made it difficult to readily tell the cause of death but was still in good enough condition to allow the ruling out of obvious trauma, which is likely the reason why foul play appears to have been dismissed.

Anyway my personal impression is that the death is natural, mostly based on the fact that the body was lying in plain view and no signs of violence were found, and LE's attitude about it.

KarlK said:

Yeah I had the same thought, but on second thought I'm not sure anaphylactic shock symptoms are easy to detect that long after death. Tissue degradation may have made it difficult to readily tell the cause of death but was still in good enough condition to allow the ruling out of obvious trauma, which is likely the reason why foul play appears to have been dismissed.

Anyway my personal impression is that the death is natural, mostly based on the fact that the body was lying in plain view and no signs of violence were found, and LE's attitude about it.

Click to expand...

Gainesville's PD is VERY careful about any media knowing anything is suspicious here. Too many "precious snowflake" students...they don't want parents freaking out. Even when a young woman was kidnapped here, kept VERY quiet. Gainesville is notorious for sweeping things under the rug to keep their "reputation" up for students. This town would be in serious trouble without the money of the University/students. I don't think their attitude means much....there was a body found in a canal here and of course, swept under the rug, as usual!!! =P

And, I hope I never go missing around here....GPD probably wouldn't even alert my family!!! =P

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090304/ARTICLES/903041006/0/SPORTS01

"Two men who had been with a Gainesville engineer later found dead in his car in the College Park neighborhood apparently have been cleared of any involvement in the man's death.

The men say they drove Gainesville engineer John Waldo to the area where his vehicle was discovered but insist the man was alive when they last checked on him, officers reported.

Gainesville police interviewed the pair in their investigation of Waldo's death.

Both men took polygraph exams as part of their interview with officers, GPD Detective Bennie Smith said.

"They took polygraphs and were successful in allaying concerns" about Waldo's death, Smith said.

Waldo, 42, was last seen at Calico Jack's Oyster Bar on Feb. 11. Waldo was found dead in the backseat of his 2001 silver BMW 330i in College Park on Feb. 23. The car, which had dark-tinted windows, had been ticketed seven times without anyone realizing Waldo's body was inside. A resident led police to the car because it had been on the block for days.

Smith said the men, who are in their early 20s and from the Gainesville area, met Waldo at Calico Jack's and then went with him with plans to go to another bar. One drove the BMW because Waldo had been drinking.

But once they arrived at the area, Waldo decided not to go with the two and stayed in the car's backseat, the two told officers.

The men came back later to check on Waldo and said that, although they thought he was "real drunk," they believed he was OK, Smith said. The two last saw Waldo at about midnight."


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http://www.alligator.org/articles/2009/03/06/news/local/090306_commission.txt

Nothing more at link:

" John Waldo's daughter, and Monica Kraft, his fiancée, promote the John Waldo law at a City Commission meeting on Thursday afternoon. The John Waldo law would reestablish the relationship between ticketing and the Gainesville Police Department."

Thanks, Kat! Had a couple of days off...wasn't online =)