BILLINGS — The Yellowstone County Coroner's Office has identified James Joseph Brown of Billings as the the man whose body was found in a city garbage truck.
Brown was 50 years old.
Coroner Cliff Mahoney said Brown died of asphyxiation and crushing injuries, and his death has been ruled accidental.
Brown's body was found Tuesday morning inside a city garbage truck at the Billings landfill.
Police are continuing to investigate, but Mahoney said it's possible authorities may not be able to determine exactly what happened that led to Brown's death.
(1st REPORT, FEBRUARY 18) The Billings Police Department is investigating after a body was found in a sanitation truck at the landfill.
The call came in around 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
Lt. Wooley of the Billings Department posted on the BPF Twitter account: "Shortly after 9am BPD was notified by solid waste division that a body was located amongst trash in a city garbage truck at the city land fill."
The body was found in the load area of the truck; police have taped off the area.
The identity of the person has not yet been determined.
At this point, there is no word on whether foul play is suspected, and police have not yet released any other information.
We will update you when we get more information.
