A South Baltimore man who worked at a southwestern Baltimore County messenger company was shot to death early yesterday while on the job, police said.
George Thomas King Sr., 45, of the 2800 block of Hudson St., a dispatcher for Prestige Messenger Service Inc. in the 1500 block of Caton Center Drive, Arbutus, was shot once in the head. Another employee found the body behind a trash bin at the end of a parking lot.
Police said the office was disturbed to indicate a "light ransacking" or perhaps a brief struggle, but they said Mr. King apparently was killed outside the building.
Robbery was being listed as a possible motive by police along with several other "theories," on which they declined to elaborate. There were no signs of forced entry, police said. Investigators and company officials were trying to determine what might be missing.
"It's tragic, there's no question about it," said Danny Moore, general manager of the messenger service. He said Mr. King's job of night dispatcher was to tell drivers where to make pickups and deliveries.
Just before 3:45 a.m., a truck driver with the messenger service arrived at the firm, which is in an isolated industrial office park. He saw Mr. King's car and car keys, but couldn't find Mr. King at his normal post inside the building, said Cpl. Kevin Novak, a county police spokesman.
When the employee went outside the building to look, he said he heard "noises" from inside and called 911, police said. No one was seen leaving. Officers arrived and searched the building, but didn't find anyone inside.
A short time later, the same employee found Mr. King's body and officers began checking the area.
"They did a very, very cautious search," Corporal Novak said. "At this point, we don't have any suspects."
Mr. Moore said the victim began working at Prestige two years ago after answering an advertisement.