Restaurant Remained Open With Dead Body Inside Bathroom
By Jason Hall
October 16, 2022
A Maryland restaurant remained open with a woman's dead body left in the bathroom for hours, FOX 5 DC reports.
The Prince George's County Police Department said it received a report of an unconscious woman inside the Jasper's Restaurant in Largo at around 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday (October 12). Responding medics said the woman is suspected to have died from a heart attack.
The restaurant reportedly kept the woman inside the women's bathroom, which was closed off to customers, and allowed the men's bathroom to be accessible to all patrons, according to a police report obtained by FOX 5 DC.
The report states that Jasper's was full of customers while the woman's body remained in the bathroom.
Miguel Perera, one of the managers at Jasper's, claimed the decision was made in order to protect the family's privacy.
"It's not something that we are accustomed to," Perea told FOX 5 DC. "At the moment, we thought we were doing the right thing, and we realized maybe we were wrong."
Fred Rosenthal, the owner of the restaurant, said the coroner didn't arrive until two hours after the woman was found, adding that the body was removed from a side door of the restaurant.
"If they feel that we disrespected them in any way, that is not what we were trying to do," Perea added via FOX 5 DC.
Jasper's management said they felt horrible about the incident and were in the process of tracking down the woman's family and issuing an apology at the time of FOX 5 DC's report last Thursday (October 13).
"Last night, one of our customers tragically passed away within our establishment. On behalf of our ownership, management, and staff we send the sincerest and most heartfelt support and condolences to the deceased’s family," the statement reads. "We will be reaching out to the family to see if there is any way we can support them in this time of grief.
"We immediately contacted county authorities and followed their protocol and procedure. Under the authorities’ guidance, we closed the area to patrons until all emergency services could arrive and followed the direction of the authorities."