It seems he was trying to break into his girlfriend’s house by unlocking the door from the cat door.
Man Found Dead, Stuck In Cat Door
32-Year-Old Trying To Get In Girlfriend’s Home
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – St. Johns County deputies recently launched an investigation into what they called one of the strangest accidents they’ve ever seen when a man was found dead after getting stuck in a cat door.
Investigators said 32-year-old Charles Tucker Jr. was using the cat door early Saturday morning as a way to get back into his girlfriend’s St. Augustine home after the woman kicked him out.
Deputies said several hours after his girlfriend told him to leave she found him stuck in the cat door.
“Maybe at 3 a.m., my older brother called me and told me – he was crying – that she had called him and she found him dead in the door,” said Tucker’s friend, Will Elliot.
Elliot lives down the street from the home where Tucker was found dead.
“He’s a big guy. I don’t even know how he could fit through there,” Elliot said. “Probably to get in and unlock the door. They said he had one arm through there and his head was caught in there like he was to reach up and unlock the door because there’s no way he could fit through there.”
Tucker’s girlfriend called 911 when she found the 32-year-old stuck. On Tuesday, a recording of that 911 call was released:
Woman Calls 911 After Finding Boyfriend Stuck In Cat Door
Caller: (Crying)
911 Operator: What's going on there, ma'am?
Caller: He tried to come in ...He tried to unlock the door through the cat door because he can...he strangled himself. I can't get him out.
911 Operator: Ma'am you're going to have to slow down. I'm having a hard time understanding you. Is he hurt?
Caller: He's not breathing.
911 Operator Okay. If you want to perform CPR, I can help you.
Caller: I can't even get him out of my cat door. He's stuck.
911 Operator: He's stuck in a cat door?
Caller: Yes.
911 Operator: Okay.
Caller: I can't even get him pulled out. (crying)
911 Operator: There's no way you can get him out of there?
Caller: I tried to push him myself. I'm afraid to push the door open.
She also told the operator that Tucker was not moving, that he was cold to the touch and that his lips were blue.
When officers showed up at the woman’s home four minutes after the call, Tucker was already dead.
Officers said when they found Tucker in the cat door, it was not the first encounter they had with him during that weekend. They said on Friday they found him slumped over the wheel of his car and he was taken to Flagler Hospital, but was later released.
A day later, Tucker was dead. The door in which Tucker got stuck had been removed and put out with the trash Monday.
“Maybe he just passed out because there was no sign of struggle or anything. She would have heard him. She was in the house,” Elliot said.
The cause of Tucker’s death has not been released. Officers were awaiting autopsy results before releasing that information.
