Employee at Georgia store finds co-worker dead in bathroom

KENNESAW, Ga. — An employee reporting for work at a Whole Foods Market in Georgia found his co-worker dead inside the grocery store.

The man made the grim discovery Monday when he was coming in for his shift at a store in Kennesaw, the city’s police department said in an incident report. The business is in a shopping center roughly 25 miles northwest of Atlanta, news outlets reported.

The worker went to use the employee bathroom but found out it had been locked since the previous day, police said. After knocking several times and getting no response, investigators said he used his pocketknife to open the lock. As soon as he walked in, he found his co-worker “slumped over the toilet,” the report said. He immediately called 911 and then moved her to the floor.

The woman was “stiff and cold to the touch,” according to the Kennesaw Police Department.

Staff members said the deceased woman, identified as Leslie Kochensparger, had been working at the store for just two weeks, WSB-TV reported.

On Tuesday night, a spokesperson for Whole Foods Market sent WSB-TV a statement saying, “We are grieving the loss of our fellow team member and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.”