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Carpenters find agent’s body
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The break that ultimately led authorities to Brian G. Nichols came Saturday morning when two carpenters showed up for work.
Brothers Felix and Martin Salazar, carpenters from Mexico, reported to work about 8 a.m. on a house being built by David G. Wilhelm, a high-ranking investigator with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Atlanta. Martin Salazar, 41, said in an interview that he and his brother saw a house door open and caught sight of Wilhelm’s body lying on the floor about eight feet away.
He said he and his brother called out “David! David!” but got no answer. He said Wilhelm lay on his back with his eyes open, hands resting on his chest. Salazar said they left without entering the house and called a contractor and talked with neighbors until police arrived. He said he and his brother noticed a small amount of blood in the garage but did not get close enough to Wilhelm’s body to have an idea about how he died.
Several weeks ago, when Wilhelm first met the Salazar brothers and learned they were from Mexico, he told them about a church mission trip he had taken to that country, Salazar said.
“He seemed like a good guy,” he said.
Salazar said he and his brother did not see Wilhelm’s pickup at the house, which apparently triggered a search by authorities. That pickup, a blue 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck, later turned up at the Gwinnett County apartments where police captured Nichols.
Salazar said he last saw Wilhelm alive about 5 p.m. Friday, when the two men chatted at the house Wilhelm was building. He said Wilhelm talked about the killings Friday of a judge, court reporter and sheriff’s deputy in downtown Atlanta.
“He said ‘Did you hear what happened? Somebody killed a judge and some other people,’” Salazar said in Spanish. “He was sad. He told us to be careful. He said there are a lot of crazy people out there.”
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