Please play safely and do not let this happen to you.
An Alabama minister who died in June 2007 of ‘accidental mechanical asphyxia’ was found hogtied and wearing two complete wet suits, including a face mask, diving gloves and slippers, rubberized underwear, and a head mask, according to an autopsy report.
Investigators determined that Rev. Gary Aldridge’s death was not caused by foul play and that the 51-year-old pastor of Montgomery’s Thorington Road Baptist Church was alone in his home at the time he died (while apparently in the midst of some autoerotic undertaking). While the Montgomery Advertiser, which first obtained the autopsy records, reported on Aldridge’s two wet suits, the family newspaper chose not to mention what police discovered inside the minister’s rubber briefs. Aldridge served as the church’s pastor for 16 years. Immediately following his death, church officials issued a press release asking community members to ‘please refrain from speculation’ about what led to Aldridge’s demise, adding that, ‘we will begin the healing process under the strong arm of our Savior, Jesus Christ.’
Report of autopsy
Name: Gary Michael Aldridge
County: Montgomery
Date of death: June 24, 2007
Age: 51 years
Accidental mechanical asphyxia
Cause of death: Asphyxia
Manner of death: Accident
The decedent is clothed in a diving wet suit, a face mask which has a single vent for breathing, a rubberized head mask having an opening for mouth and eyes, a second rubberized suit with suspenders, rubberized male underwear, hands and feet have diving gloves and slippers. There are numerous straps and cords restraining the decedent. There is a leather belt about the midriff. There is a series of ligatures extending from the hands to the feet. The hands are bound behind the back. The feet are tied to the hands. There are nylon ligatures holding these in place with leather straps about the wrists and ankles. There are plastic cords also tied about the hands and feet with a single plastic cord extending up to the head and surrounding the lower neck. There is a dildo in the anus covered with a condom.
Body Habitus: The body is that of a White male, consistent with the giveb age of 41 years.
Condition of Body:There is decomposition present with insufflation of organs with gas. There is early bloating. There is focal skin slippage. The head is markedly suffused with decompositional changes and purple/green discoloration of skin surfaces.
Logistical Information
…
Clothing/Personal Effects:
Clothing: The decedent was received wearing two (2) wet suits, one scuba diving mask, one pair of diving gloves, one pair of slippers, one pair of rubber underwear, two (2) ties, five (5) belts, eleven (11) straps.
Personal effects: One yellow metal ring intact on left ring finger, one dildo.
Dr. Stephen Boudreau (who prepared the autopsy) said:
“These things happen. We see probably two of these a year. If you’re not used to seeing that sort of thing, it’s probably unusual.”
Sources:
- Montgomery Advertiser (the article is already unavailable)
- The Smoking Gun