New Haven Independent

Donna Vincent and Kevin Davidson (from left in photo) transported the body out of the park around 11 a.m., ending a two-and-a half-hour episode during which the police blocked off the western edge of the park.

A jogger discovered the body on a tree between a swampy area and a walking path down an embankment along the park’s West Rock Avenue side.

Police had just been at the Jobs Corps on Wintergreen Avenue, where they tried unsuccessfully to revive a young man found dead of what was believed to be a medical problem.

The body in Edgewood Park, of an African-American man, appeared to have been there for about an hour before being discovered. Police taped off the walking path and took fingerprints and photos. They found a knapsack by the body. It contained papers suggesting the victim was a 24-year-old who was recently released from prison on charges related to domestic violence. That information remained to be confirmed; police weren’t releasing more details as they continued investigating.

Police on the scene said the man had apparently hanged himself with a nylon lace from one of his boots. Shortly before 10:30 a fire department crew arrived for the grisly task of cutting the lace. The medical examiner’s office sent someone to inspect the body. Then Vincent and Davidson loaded the body on a stretcher and into a silver van, and the path was reopened, inviting joggers and walkers to resume experiencing nature’s seasonal rebirth.