Cops not ruling out foul play in death of BC student Franco Garcia
Foul play has not been ruled out yet as the investigation into what happened to Boston College student Franco Garcia continues, but authorities were hesitant to make assumptions.
“We always take our time on these things…we are working very hard to answer questions, but we are always reluctant and hesitant to speculate,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.
Conley said he couldn’t say what happened to the Newton-native, who went missing in February, until an investigation is complete.
An autopsy of the body is expected to take place either Thursday or Friday, according to officials.
“It is our hope we will be bale to offer more detailed information about [his ] last hours…and how he passed away,” said Conley.
A preliminary investigation indicates that it was Garcia’s body found in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir early Wednesday morning, however.
Conley said clothing and items on the body were consistent with those worn by Garcia the night he disappeared after leaving a bar in Cleveland Circle.
Garcia has been missing for seven weeks, and the family turned to a private investigator to assist in the search for their son.
As family members left the scene of the crime Wednesday in tears, Antonio Espinoza, Garcia’s uncle, confirmed the identity of the body found in the water was his nephew’s.
State police and Boston Fire crews arrived at the scene just around 8 a.m. after receiving a call form someone walking along the shore.
The reservoir was the location of the intense search for Garcia since he went missing on Feb. 22.
State police divers searched the water for a week in February trying to find the 21-year-old, but came up empty.
Garcia went missing after he left a group of friends he had spent time with at Mary Ann’s, a Cleveland Circle bar popular with BC students. He parked his car on campus and it was still there after he went missing.
A ping from a cell phone tower showed that Garcia’s phone was somewhere near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir around 1:15 a.m. the day he went missing.
