ATLANTA – A man wanted in Florida in the death of his ex-girlfriend climbed an 18-story crane Wednesday at a construction site and remained perched there Thursday afternoon as authorities tried to talk him down.
The man got onto the crane around 5 p.m. Wednesday and indicated he was contemplating suicide, Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Quigley.
The man was identified as Carl Edward Roland, 41, who is wanted by the Pinellas County, Fla., sheriff's department in the slaying of his former girlfriend. The badly beaten body of Jennifer L. Gonzalez, 36, was found Tuesday in a pond behind the apartment complex where she lived.
Florida detectives believe she died of upper body trauma but would not disclose how the woman was killed or if a weapon was found at the scene, said Mac McMullen, spokesman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (search).
"We will be sending detectives up shortly and will be waiting for the resolution of the incident in Atlanta," McMullen said.
The intersection where the construction site is located remained closed, snarling traffic in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood.
Quigley wasn't sure how the man got onto the crane, saying it was possible the construction crew had left for the day.
Police on Thursday were hoping to find one of Roland's relatives, who is believed to live in the Atlanta area, to assist in their effort to talk the man down. Roland is talking to negotiators but has refused food and water, Pennington said.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox