The death of a 39-year-old Rhea County man found with a plastic bag over his head has been preliminarily ruled a suicide.

Robert Calvert was a kind of hermit, a recluse, according to family members, and it wasn't unusual for them not to see him or hear from him for months at a time. He was supposed to join family members for the annual Independence Day Parade in Dunlap, Tenn. When he didn't show up on Monday, family members decided to check up on him.

His sister, grandmother and aunt drove over to Calvert's Cranmore Cove Road mobile home Monday evening at about 5 p.m.

"They weren't really concerned, but they hadn't seen him since late May," said Detective Chris Hall with the Rhea County Sheriff's Department.

When they found the mobile home locked up and no sign of Calvert, they contacted the sheriff's department.

Hall and several other officers went to the mobile home and forced open the door at about 5:30 p.m. The smell told them immediately that something was wrong.

The officers found a badly decomposed body of a man lying on the bed in a bedroom. The body was under the covers and dressed as if for bed, according to Hall.

A plastic bag was over the man's head, and a piece of elastic appeared to be securing the bag around the neck. Hall said the bag had holes in it, and, due to the decomposition, it was impossible to tell how tight the elastic had been around the neck.

The body was identified as Calvert.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agent David Emiren assisted the sheriff's department in examining the home for any signs of foul play but found none. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed or taken from the mobile home, and Calvert normally had very little money, Hall said.

The body was initially transported to Bradley Memorial Hospital in Cleveland for an autopsy by Dr. Ronald Toolsie, who frequently serves as pathologist for Rhea County cases. But the hospital's ventilation system was unable to cope with the smell so the body was transported to Dr. Charles Harlan in Nashville for the autopsy.

"Dr. Harlan said his initial finding was that Calvert died of asphyxiation, either by suicide or an undetermined cause. He said he had seen 20 to 25 suicide cases in his career that were almost identical to this one," Hall said.

No wounds were found on the remains, there were no broken bones, and Harlan was unable to collect enough body fluids to conduct blood toxicology tests. The decomposition was substantial enough that Harlan could not fix the time of death, although he said it wouldn't be inconsistent with the end of May or early June.

Harlan's final autopsy report should be complete in two or three weeks, according to Hall.

Toolsie and Emiren also suspected suicide, Hall said.

Calvert worked at Bi-Lo at one time but was currently receiving a disability check, according to Hall. Although he apparently had some psychological problems, family members indicated they had never noticed any suicidal tendencies.

"This case is definitely a challenge," Hall said. "There's not much evidence after all this time; it basically looks like a suicide. At least there's no evidence it was a homicide."

The detective said his investigation is continuing, however.

John Carpenter can be reached at jcarpenter@xtn.net.