The death of a Griffin man who apparently was electrocuted while allegedly trying to steal copper wire appears to be accidental, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
The body of Dennis Martin Williams, 46, was found shortly after midnight Saturday on the roof of the old Dundee Mills, a former textile mill on Chestnut Street, according to Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam.
“The mills have been closed for several years, (but) it appears the electricity was still going into the power pole,” Beam said. “There was electricity on one side of the tower. (Williams) apparently was working on the one side where the current was flowing to the tower.”
Family members of the victim notified the sheriff’s office after he had been missing for about two days, and one relative came forward to say Williams had been stealing copper wiring from the roof area of the old mill, authorities said.
An officer went to the location and found Williams’ body on the roof near power lines leading from the street to the building. Fire department and emergency medical personnel responded and helped investigators recover the body.
The body has been sent to the Georgia State Crime Lab for an autopsy. An investigation is continuing to determine if the victim had any accomplices in the alleged theft, Beam said.
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