Odd death investigated

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 8, 2004

Demopolis Police continue to investigate the death of a man who was seen running through town in scant clothing late last week.

According to acting police chief Jeff Manuel, Larry Neal, 41, was found dead at the corner of Cherry Avenue and Washington Street early Friday morning.

Newspaper carriers for The Demopolis Times spotted Neal running down Cherry Avenue, complaining that someone was after him. Later that evening, Neal was found dead in just his under clothing. According to Manuel, Neal apparently died from heart failure.

Email newsletter signup

“We did some drug tests on him at the hospital, and he was positive for cocaine,” Manuel said. “From what we can tell, it was just a drug-induced heart attack.”

Police still have not completed their investigation into Neal’s death because there are questionable circumstances surrounding the case. For instance, witnesses said they noticed a woman talking to Neal shortly before he collapsed.

“We don’t think there was any conflict between them, though,” Manuel said. “The woman apparently was walking away from him. She wasn’t chasing him.”

Manuel also said there was no sign of physical injuries on Neal’s body that would have resulted from a physical altercation before his death.

“We still want to look into some things, and find out where he had been earlier in the night,” Manuel said.

Upon finding Neal’s body, Manuel said CPR was unsuccessfully performed on the victim.