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UA employee found dead

Veterinary lab supervisor died in university-owned home, no foul play suspected

A University of Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory employee was found dead Friday at his home on laboratory property.

Melvin Perry, 60, of 2831 N. Freeway, was found at about 3:17 p.m. when his son went to the UA-owned house to check on him because he hadn't returned from his lunch break, a university police report stated.

Perry was found lying on his back on his living room floor with a rubber band tied around his arm about six inches above his elbow and a hypodermic syringe with brown liquid in the needle about a foot from his body, the report stated.

Police also noticed a puncture mark with blood buildup at the bend of his arm.

"We are treating this as an unknown death until the determination of the lab result from the fluid in the syringe comes back," said Sgt. Michael Smith, UAPD spokesman. "We don't know what is in the needle yet, but it has been sent off for toxicological examination."

According to the report, a co-worker called Perry's son and asked him if he had seen Perry because he hadn't returned from lunch at 1:30 p.m., when he left at 11 a.m.

The son checked Perry for vital signs when he arrived, and an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer checked him as well before Tucson Fire Department rescue workers arrived at about 3:20 p.m. and pronounced him dead on arrival, the report stated.

"We don't suspect any foul play here," Smith said. "But we have to keep the case open until the results of the toxicology test are returned."

After Tucson Fire Department workers arrived, two Tucson Police Department officers were called to the scene. They then determined that the property belonged to the UA and called two UAPD officers to the scene.

The director of the laboratory, Dr. Bob Clock, said Perry worked as a laboratory technician and lived on-site to handle problems with animals or with people bringing in animals that couldn't wait until morning or after the weekend.

"He was our eyes, ears and welcoming committee for people who needed help after hours," Glock said. "He was a very fine gentleman, the kind of person you liked to have around because you knew he would never cause you any problems."

Glock said Perry handled animals and animal specimens at the laboratory for many years and was mostly involved in a poultry research and diagnostic project before that program was shut down.

"He helped with the acquisition of animals and materials and was basically a farm supervisor," Glock said. "He was a quiet man, but he was always the instigator of lab parties and gatherings. But the worst thing is that he was approaching retirement, and we were all cheering him on to get there.

"He wanted to do some more of the things he really liked, like spending time with his family and fishing. We were really looking forward to hearing stories about that. There are some long faces here (at the laboratory)."