Officials: Man drowned
No signs of foul play found on washed up body
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published April 4, 2007

There were no signs of foul play on the body of Jerzy Perkitny 60, a Lakewood man whose body washed ashore on a private beach Sunday afternoon in Bay Village  after apparently drowning in Lake Erie, police said.

“There’s no indication that anything was done to him,” said Detective Lt. Mark Spaetzel of the Bay Village Police Department, who went to the scene Sunday afternoon when Perkitny’s body was found at about 2:43 p.m. Spaetzel said there was no evidence at the scene that anyone else was involved in Perkitny going into the lake and ending up on the beach.

Dental records were used to identify Perkitny Monday during an autopsy by the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s office. Coroner’s office officials said it’s likely he drowned in the lake, saying that there appeared to be about two weeks of decomposition.

Lakewood Police Chief Tim Malley said Perkitny was reported missing March 15. He had left his car and also left a note indicating he was unhappy about different problems in his life.

“He had some medical issues,” Malley said.

Malley said police found nothing to indicate that anything criminal was involved in Perkitny’s disappearance near the lake.

“There’s no evidence of foul play,” Malley said.

No one else appeared to be involved, the chief said.

Spaetzel said the body was partially decomposed when it was found on the beach by the property owners.

“It was upsetting to the family there, since that’s something you don’t see everyday,” Spaetzel said.

The body had pants and a leather jacket with a shoe on one foot, with the other shoe missing, Spaetzel said. He said there were no personal items on the body when it was found.

The police department portion of the investigation is done, Spaetzel said. He said toxicology tests would indicate whether there was any alcohol or drugs involved. Spaetzel said it would be several weeks before officials get the results of those reports back.