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Refrigerator Kills Cleaning Man

He was found pinned between the fridge and a wall

Thursday, Sep 10, 2009 | Updated 6:45 AM EST

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A neighbor told police the victim came back with two other men later the same day, probably to move the refrigerator out.

A Pennsylvania man's last cleaning job killed him. Gary Jackson's body was found pinned between a refrigerator and a wall inside the stairwell of a Harrisburg home he had been cleaning.

Jackson died of asphyxiation, according to the Dauphin County coroner. His body was found Monday night by his brother and the homeowner, Stanley Lawson, who is also Jackson's friend. The two men became worried when they didn't see Jackson for a couple of days, so they called 911.

Lawson, who is head of Harrisburg's NAACP, hired Jackson to clean the home on Saturday, which he did in a matter of hours and then Lawson drove him home.

"For the life of me, I can't figure out why he went back there," Lawson told The Patriot News. "I don't know what he was thinking. I really don't."

Jackson came back to the house a little later, apparently to haul away the refrigerator. Lawson had agreed to let Jackson have the heavy appliance, but said he didn't expect him to try and move it that same day.

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