FELLSMERE — A 34-year-old man whose body was found in a vacant lot last October died from acute intoxication of fentanyl, police said. Fellsmere officers released details on the investigation conclusion Friday.
Marty Ray Crawford Jr.’s body was discovered Oct. 9 in a small, wooded section on the lot in the area of North Willow Street and Lincoln Street, north of County Road 512 in Fellsmere. Police said several items were found near Crawford’s body, including a small clear plastic baggie.
“The presence of this baggie was not revealed in previous press releases to avoid public speculation until it could be properly analyzed by the Regional Crime Laboratory in Fort Pierce,” Fellsmere police said in a statement. Police received the lab results on Thursday, which showed the baggie contained 80 mg of fentanyl, officials said.
Officers said a typical lethal dose of fentanyl is only 2mg.
“Interviews conducted with close friends and family members, coupled with the absence of any foul play led investigators to suspect early on that Crawford’s death was likely the result of acute intoxication (fentanyl),” Fellsmere police said in a statement. “Those suspicions were shared with family members and were confirmed after receiving the Medical Examiner’s report and the lab analysis of the plastic baggie.”
Crawford, who police said did not have a permanent residence, had been missing since mid-September. A new property owner found Crawford’s skeletal remains on a wooded lot.
Personal items found near Crawford’s body were a cell phone, pair of sunglasses and a pair of white Nike slides, police previously said. Autopsy findings showed there was no trauma to Crawford’s body, according to officers.
Medical examiners determined Crawford’s body had been in the area between three-to-six weeks. Police suspected the remains belonged to Crawford after several people contacted officers around Oct. 15.
Crawford’s acquaintances told police that sometimes they wouldn’t hear from him for days at a time. But, they also said “not hearing from him for this long was abnormal,” officers said.
Crawford’s father and relatives then reported him missing on Oct. 19 after learning his friends had not heard from him.
Police previously put out an alert to the public asking for help in locating Crawford. Medical examiners were able to identify the body as Crawford by using a hydration restoration process to obtain a thumb print from his body, officers said.
“The members of Crawford’s family who investigators shared the lab analysis with wish to thank the community for their support and convey the closure they now have in this case,” Fellsmere police said in a statement. “To aid in that closure, they hope that everyone who knew him or came to know him as a result of this investigation will remember Marty for the good person he was.”
