Homeless Man Found Frozen In Second Cold-Related Death

ST. LOUIS, MO — A homeless man was found dead, frozen inside a dumpster behind an apartment building, on New Year's Day. He was 54 years old and known in the area, police said, but they are not releasing his identity until they can find and contact a next of kin. Firefighters found the man's body after responding to an unrelated call near the Brewery Apartments in the St. Louis Place neighborhood downtown, the Post-Dispatch reports.

An autopsy is planned and homicide detectives are investigating the death, but it is likely the result of subzero temperatures over the weekend. The low Monday morning was six degrees below zero. His is the second death attributed to the cold in St. Louis. Just days before Christmas, Grover Perry, another homeless man, was found dead in a port-a-potty where he had been living for weeks. Perry's autopsy has not been completed, but police suspect the cold rather than foul play.

Subzero temperatures have blasted the Midwest in recent weeks as a dip in the jet stream has brought arctic air deep into the continental United States. St. Louis is not expected to see a return to seasonally average temperatures until at least the middle of January.

Photo by Renee Schiavone/Patch