No foul play suspected, but no cause identified in case of man who died in home basement

Yahoo

22-04-2025

Athens-Clarke police reported Monday that detectives are still investigating the circumstances of how a man died in the basement of his home where his body lay for a month before it was found.
The death investigation revolves around Frank Perry Williams, 44, whose body was found in a Lavender Road home on April 9 by his girlfriend, who also lived in the house. The investigation is continuing, but no foul play is suspected, police Lt. Katie Jenkins said Monday. Results of the autopsy are still pending, she said.
Williams was found dead by his 56-year-old girlfriend, who reported she discovered the body after taking a bicycle into the basement of the home the pair co-habited, according to the police report. A week prior to finding the body, the girlfriend reported detecting a smell that lingered despite deep cleaning the house, according to police.
She reported last seeing Williams about a month earlier when they had a domestic argument and the next day she discovered him gone, according to the report. She told an officer she believed Williams had 'left her for good.'
The woman described Williams as her husband when officers arrived, but Selena Sanders, his sister who lives in Franklin, said the two had never married.
'He said it wasn't working out,' she said Monday about her brother's relationship with the woman. 'I know he was going to leave after he saved some money."
Williams, who was born in New Orleans and moved with his family to Georgia when he was about 11 years old, had lived in Lithonia, according to Sanders. He was one of 10 children in the Williams home and Sanders said they remained close following the deaths of their parents.
Previously: Wife finds body of husband in basement of Athens home after missing for month
'At an early age my brother learned how to sing, play piano and drums. And he was excellent in mathematics,' she said, adding he grew up singing gospel songs.
But he also had health problems as an adult with back and sciatic nerve pain, she said. He had quit one job due to the pain, but recently had accepted a new job at a Taco Bell.
'He was excited about working and to find someone willing to hire him and allow him to sit down and get off his feet and not stand the whole time,' she said. 'He said, 'Sis, I don't go a day without feeling pain.'"
Sanders said police have not shared how they think he came to his death, but officers told the family they are awaiting the autopsy. The body has not been released, but the family is reaching out for help with funeral expenses. Sanders created a Gofundme page to raise $2,000 to assist in this effort. The page can be accessed atwww.gofundme.com/f/frank-williams-sisters-or-seeking-support-to-bury-him.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Probe continues in death of Athens man found dead in home basement