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Assistant Fire Chief Robert McLeod said the man, identified as Alexandros
Martakis, 35, died Tuesday of natural causes. McLeod estimated his weight as
"close to half a ton," while others put it at roughly 800 pounds.
Because of its large size, the body couldn't be removed immediately.
Instead, workers made plans to remove it on Wednesday. McLeod said an
interior wall in Martakis' second-floor apartment had to be removed, as did
part of an exterior wall, surrounding the second-floor window.
The plan was to use a pay loader to remove Martakis' body, and bring him to
the ground below. On Wednesday, police and fire personnel worked from the
morning until shortly after 1:30 p.m. to remove the body, which will be
buried at Park Cemetery in Bridgeport. McLeod said it was difficult to find
a funeral home to take the body, but George J. Peterson Funeral Home on
Noble Avenue eventually agreed to handle the interment.
When workers were ready to remove the corpse, they moved it onto a platform
positioned on top of the pay loader. The body, which was covered in a blue
blanket, was then lowered to the street.
As crews worked at the scene, a portion of Kent Street was closed to traffic
and blocked off to pedestrians. Neighbors and patrons and employees of area
businesses braved the rain and chilly weather to watch the sad, painstaking
process.
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