'Was he alive in the garbage can?': Body found at waste management plant identified as SeaTac man
Family identifies man found dead in Tacoma recycling plant
FOX 13 spoke with the family of a man whose body was found at a recycling plant in Tacoma.
TACOMA, Wash. - A body found at a waste management facility in Tacoma on April 12 has been identified as Zack Hillis.
Hillis' father, Stacey Hillis says he was notified of his son's death the day after the discovery.
"It's a grief you don't have any words for," said Hillis.
Hillis says his son's viewing is planned for this Friday but he and his wife won't be attending due to the condition his son's body was left in.
"Shredded like trash and thrown on conveyor belts and crushed in the garbage can multiple times," said Hillis. "No parents should ever hear that, let alone bury your son."
While detectives try to piece together the timeline of Zack's last moments, Hillis says his son was addicted to fentanyl and suffered from schizophrenia.
He believes his son would still be here had Zack been sent to a hospital and not released to a halfway house after a 4-month stay in jail.
"[Zack] wasn't just a body found at a recycling plant," said Hillis. "He was a son, a brother and an uncle."