For the third time in just two weeks, the Tallahassee Police Department has discovered a body left in a parked car in a parking lot.
The latest case took place in a Walmart parking lot on West Tennessee Street, just a few miles from the campus of Florida State University, at 11:30 Wednesday morning. The police released few details of the case; however, they have identified the body as 49-year-old Celia Helm, who was reported missing to the TPD just the day before. On Tuesday, the “missing adult” alert was put out on social media, noting that she was last seen near Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare on Monday. On Wednesday, she was found in a Nissan Altima with Tennessee tags in the Walmart parking lot.
Police claim that they suspect no foul play, yet people are still worried for their safety after the third body was found under similar conditions.
Just a few days before Helm was found, on Feb. 11, a 67-year-old woman was also found inside a vehicle in the Walmart parking lot on Thomasville Road. While the case is still under investigation, the cause of death was mostly likely not due to suicide, says TPD Spokesman Kevin Bradshaw.
Before that, another person was also found inside a car parked in the long-term lot of the Tallahassee International Airport on Feb. 5. Officials say that the case has been turned over to the Violent Crime Unit and an investigation is being conducted. Bradsbaw claimed that suicide could not be ruled out in that case, and that this does not appear to be a result of criminal activity; Bradshaw said that the cases appear to be “isolated, tragic incidents”.
Many people, however, have expressed concern about the reoccurring events:
“There is a lot of concern about what’s going on in our neighborhood because this is like the third person and it’s getting a little suspicious and is concerning,” Tallahassee resident Rebekka Behr said to WCTV Eyewitness News. She went on to say, “I would definitely say that there needs to be something that needs to change within our community. Whether it’s just checking parking lots at night or putting more lighting somewhere, cause it’s kind of crazy that this is happening….”
TPD has been doing its best to calm the residents, stating that the retail giant Walmart has been a magnet for people, whether they are transient, homeless or travelling, to park overnight because of the store’s lenient parking policies. In turn, some people end up dying there; a review of deaths in Walmart parking lots conducted in 2018 by Florida Today found dozens of cases across the country in which people were found dead inside their cars.
The situation is still being investigated, but as of right now, the TPD assures that they suspect no foul play in place. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Anyone with information is asked to call TPD at (850) 891-4200 or CrimeStoppers anonymously at (850) 891-4200.
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