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Man Who Mistook Body For A Mannequin Fired

ST. PETERSBURG (CBSMiami/AP) — A 61-year-old desk clerk was reportedly fired after mistaking a body for a mannequin and allegedly dumping it into a trash bin.

Ronald Benjamin told police he saw the body in the parking lot of a 16-story St. Petersburg apartment building early Wednesday and assumed someone put a mannequin there as part of an April Fool's Day prank.

A co-worker arrived and told him a body was in the parking lot but he insisted it was a mannequin. He got a newspaper carrier and her son to help him toss the body in the garbage. A maintenance worker saw the body and called authorities.

Police said a 96-year-old woman committed suicide by jumping from her apartment balcony.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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