The Macon-Bibb Coroner’s Office says a man who they pronounced dead this week is alive and now they’re explaining what could have caused the mix-up.
“A lady called me yesterday [Saturday] morning and said she knew who it was,” said Coroner Leon Jones.
Jones says he wasn’t expecting the call.
Days after he identified the body of a man who fell off the back of a pickup truck, a woman came forward claiming she knew the victim and he was still alive.
“It’s rare that we have a body that we can’t identify, but it does happen. Everybody doesn’t have identification on them,” said Jones.
He used fingerprint evidence that pointed to a stay in jail by a Larry Parton.
It turns out that Robert Rivens, 41, had used Parton’s name when he checked into jail. Jones explained how that could happen.
“[Say] law enforcement walks up to me and says, ‘What’s your name? What’s your date of birth? Do you have a driver’s license?’ and [you say] no,” said Jones.
Jones says Rivens’ using Parton’s name caused the whole mix-up, but he says Rivens’ mother told him she’s used to many aliases.
“He has a habit of doing that. That’s what she told me,” Jones said.
While it likely came as a shock to Mr. Parton, at least the truth is out there now.
Parton told 13WMAZ reporter Abby Kousouris that he and Rivens were cousins, but he was unaware that Rivens was using his name.
Jones says he was just working with the information from the jail and has since got in touch with some of Rivens’ family members in Tucson, Arizona.
Under Georgia law, it is a misdemeanor to give a false name, address or date of birth.