Body Discovered Wrapped in Blankets and Duct Tape Parked in Car Outside Emergency Room By Sean Neumann

When Declan Perry’s neighbors saw news reports about a dead man wrapped in duct tape and blankets found outside of a Massachusetts hospital on Saturday, they contacted police and explained how they watched a man carrying a “large, heavy blanket” out of his residence and into the back of a car earlier that very same day.

Perry, 27, was pronounced dead around 2:15 p.m. Saturday after a unit coordinator at the South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., discovered his unresponsive body inside a black Honda Civic parked right outside the emergency room. 

Now, authorities say they’re connecting the dots and investigating what led to Perry’s death — and how he got from his apartment in Portland, Maine to a hospital in Weymouth, Mass., more than two-hours away.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that the shocking discovery has since led investigators to begin looking into the suspicious man whom neighbors allege carried Perry’s body out to the car earlier that day. Officials said they believe the unidentified man knew Perry, though they haven’t explained how.

PEOPLE reached out to the district attorney’s office for more information Tuesday but did not hear back.

“The investigation is active and ongoing,” the DA’s office said in a statement shared on social media. “The victim and the identified person of interest were known to one another.”

Authorities said in their statement Monday that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still working to “determine manner and cause of death,” while police continue to connect the dots between Perry and the alleged suspect.

Authorities said Monday that “investigators sought and obtained a search warrant” for Perry’s residence in Maine “and seized several items of evidence” in connection with the investigation into his death. That investigation remains ongoing.