Baton Rouge Police on Friday identified a man they’d like to talk to about the disappearance and death of Georgia businessman Nathan Millard, whose body was found wrapped in plastic and carpet in an empty lot nearly two weeks after he vanished.
Police Sgt. L’Jean McKneely told WAFB that Derrick Perkins is not a person of interest in Millard’s disappearance but someone they think can help them understand what happened to him.
“There’s an individual that we’re looking for, and we would like to have conversations with that individual,” said McKneely. “So, we’re going to ask the public to assist us in finding this person who we know has information surrounding that particular case.”
“Based on the conversation we have, we will determine which way this investigation goes,” added McKneely.
Investigators said that in addition to questioning Perkins about Millard, the 45-year-old man is wanted for a probation violation, criminal damage to property, three counts of access device fraud, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
As CrimeOnline has reported, Millard, 42, travelled to Louisiana on February 22 to meet with a client. The following night, he and the client attended a basketball game at Louisiana State University and then went to Happy’s Irish Pub in downtown Baton Rouge, just a few blocks from Millard’s hotel.
The client said Millard left at about 11:30 p.m., but he never made it back to the hotel. Investigators tracked him on surveillance cameras until about 4:30 a.m., when he disappeared until Monday, when his body was found about three miles from where he was last seen.
Police said that preliminary results of an autopsy don’t indicate foul play in his death — Millard had no internal or external injuries — but they’re awaiting the final results, which will include a toxicology report, to determine cause and manner of death. In the meantime, they said they wanted to talk with whoever wrapped Millard’s body and left it on the abandoned lot.
“If something happened and there was a moment of panic, come forward,” said Police Captain Kevin Heinz at a news conference earlier this week. “We just want to know what happened to him. Our goal is to find out what happened to him.”
It’s not clear if they believe Perkins is that man, or if he might be the man seen walking with Millard down Florida Boulevard in a video obtained by WBRZ. Police said that Millard did not appear distressed in any of the videos they saw, and a security guard who encountered him shortly after midnight at the Baton Rouge bus station said he didn’t seem distressed as well, just “out of place.”
“The security guard offered to call him a ride, get him an Uber, to the call the police for him … ” Heinz said. “He declined that offer, and he left of his own accord.”
Police asked anyone having information on Perkins whereabouts to contact the Baton Rouge Police Department at (225) 389-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (225)344-7867.
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[Featured image: Nathan Millard/handout]
