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A Georgia man dumped the body of a woman in a park after he picked her up and she fell unconscious in his SUV, say Atlanta police.
Steven Simmons, 57, has been charged with concealing the death of another and tampering with evidence.
Authorities said Simmons, an Emory University employee, admitted to picking up Tina Hatchet, 57, between 10 p.m. on June 13 and 3 a.m. on June 14 near the West End Mall. Once the woman got into his car, he said, she became unresponsive.
An officer with the Atlanta Police Department came across the woman’s body while on patrol at the Perkerson Park on Saturday, according to 11 Alive. The park is located on Deckner Avenue, south of Downtown Atlanta.
Officers obtained surveillance footage from the area, which showed a blue SUV driving into the park on the same day. A man, who police later identified as Simmons, got out of the driver’s side of the car and grabbed Hatchet from the passenger seat.
He then placed her body on the ground, police said, and drove to Emory University to dump her clothes and other personal items in a dumpster.
Police managed to track Simmons down and detain him.
A warrant obtained by the TV station states Simmons had a working cellphone but didn’t call 911 because he panicked. He told police he planned on calling 911 when he got home.
A cause of death will be determined by the Fulton County Medical Examiner.
Emory fired Simmons after he was charged. Online records show he was released from the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday on a $17,500 bond.
