The remains of Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada, a supermarket employee who vanished a decade ago, have been tragically discovered in a startling location within the No Frills Supermarket in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Murillo-Moncada, 25 years old at the time of his disappearance on November 28, 2009, was reported missing by his parents after he left their home during a snowstorm following an argument and never returned.
For ten years, his whereabouts remained a mystery until January, when contractors tasked with dismantling the supermarket, closed for three years, uncovered his decomposing body wedged in an 18-inch gap behind a freezer, the Des Moines Register reports.
Authorities initially suspected the body had been there for a considerable period. Council Bluffs Police Sergeant Brandon Danielson recalled that Murillo-Moncada was immediately considered upon the discovery of the body.
Following forensic analysis and DNA testing, recently confirmed to belong to Murillo-Moncada through comparison with samples from his parents, the investigation revealed no signs of foul play.
The autopsy concluded that Murillo-Moncada's death was accidental. Police theorize he entered the store after the argument with his parents, climbed atop a freezer, and fell into the narrow space behind it, approximately 12 feet below.
Former employees corroborated that climbing on the freezers for storage purposes was not uncommon, and the noise from the machinery could have masked any calls for assistance.
"It's so loud there's probably no way anyone heard him," explained Sgt. Danielson.
Shoppers also recalled a persistent foul odor inside the store over the years, potentially linked to Murillo-Moncada's remains.
One person wrote on Facebook: "I shopped there all the time and it smelled horrible! I even asked the butcher one time if the back area was dirty with dried blood from cutting the meat and he said no it was really clean. It smelled for a long time!"
With these findings, the police have closed the cold case investigation into Murillo-Moncada's disappearance, shedding light on a decade-long mystery that tragically ended within the confines of the supermarket where he once worked.