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Officials investigating mysterious death of 21-year-old who was walking near Saugus waste plant
Cole Moment was pronounced dead at the WIN Waste Innovations facility in Saugus Dec. 31 after an employee found him lying unresponsive on the ground, officials said.
An investigation is underway in Saugus after a 21-year-old man was found dead at a waste facility on New Year’s Eve, leaving his family searching for answers.
Saugus resident Cole Moment was pronounced dead at the WIN Waste Innovations facility at 100 Salem Turnpike around 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said.
“On New Year’s Eve, the Saugus Police Department responded to a call from an employee of the facility who found Moment lying on the ground and non-responsive,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “He was pronounced deceased on scene.”
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While authorities haven’t shed much light on the circumstances of Moment’s death, the DA’s office said it does not suspect foul play. Boston.com has requested police reports on the incident.
Saugus police and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the DA’s office investigated the unattended death, the DA’s office said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine Moment’s official cause and manner of death, according to the statement.
Speaking to WBZ, his mother, Danita Moment, said she was told her son “slipped over a rail, or on some stairs.” She’s tried in vain to get her hands on video footage of the incident, according to WBZ.
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“What did my baby have to go through? Who did something to him? If it was an accident, it’s an accident. Let us see,” Danita Moment told the news outlet.
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A student at Bunker Hill Community College, Cole Moment was an honors student in high school and held a deep passion for art, according to his obituary. Danita Moment told WBZ her son was a “good human being” who helped others and liked to go on long daily walks. However, it would have been out of character for him to trespass on private property, she said.
In a statement, WIN Waste Innovations said it is “deeply saddened” by Cole Moment’s death at the Saugus facility.
“We have been fully cooperating with the proper authorities and provided all video and information about the event to the Saugus Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police,” the company said. “It is important to reiterate that this tragic event is the subject of an open investigation. Providing the video and any other information to parties other than the proper authorities would interfere with that investigation.”
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