A groundskeeper mowed around a dead body in China Grove, North Carolina, because he thought it was a Halloween prop, police said.
The body of Robert Paul Owens, 34, was found near an abandoned house on October 10, officials said.
According to police, officers received a call about a dead body in the area and arrived to find Owens in the grass.
A groundskeeper saw the body on October 9 when he was mowing the property, but he told police he thought the body was a dummy used as a prop for Halloween, so he did not report it.
The groundskeeper decided to mow around the body.
Another worker visited the property the next day and reported the body to the police.
Owens’ family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses.
The family wrote on the page: “He was found once on Monday by a lawn care employee who assumed he was Halloween decorations or a mannequin for K-9 training and was never reported to authorities.
“Who in their right mind mows a yard at a house that has power on and no one has lived there in a while but the property has been used for K-9 training for years, can assume a half-naked dead body with scratches and glass around it is Halloween decor.”
The family added: “Robert was found a second time the following day by a foreman over a construction crew that finally reported his body to authorities.”
Preliminary findings of an autopsy ruled out signs of assault or trauma to the body.
Police are waiting for the results of a toxicology report to determine the cause of death.
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