Possible 3rd cold weather death reported in Athens

By Joe Johnson

A 59-year-old man who passed away this month in a house on Helen Street might be the third person in Athens to have died from the recent extreme cold weather.

Rogelio Perez was lying on the floor of the basement that he was sharing with a roommate when the other man found him deceased on the morning of February 1st.

According to a police report, “his face was frozen with his mouth wide open,” and “it appeared as if Mr, Perez was attempting to plug in a heater.”

The low temperature in Athens that night had been 15 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Two other deaths possibly related to the frigid weather occurred on January 27th, when 22-year-old Deqavious Ragsdale died in a tent at a homeless camp off of Old Hull Road and a still-unidentified middle-aged homeless woman died in the rear parking lot of a business on Atlanta Highway.

Authorities are awaiting the results of autopsies that were conducted at the state medical examiner’s office.