Philadelphia building inspector dead in apparent suicide

A Philadelphia building inspector who had checked and signed off on a demolition site that later collapsed and killed six people has died in an apparent suicide, officials said Thursday.

Ronald Wagenhoffer, who was 52, was found dead in his vehicle Wednesday night with a gunshot wound to the chest. He had worked for 16 years at the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections and had visited the four-story building at 22nd and Market streets May 14, according to city records.

On June 5, the structure, which was in the process of being torn down and had a demolition permit, collapsed, killing five women and a man inside a Salvation Army shop next door.

“We are a city in deep and profound mourning,” Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison said at a news conference Thursday morning. “With the building collapse a week ago, we have now lost seven lives in connection with this tragedy.”

“This man did nothing wrong,” Gillison added, noting the number of inspections of the demolition site was in line with city regulations. “The department did what it was supposed to do under the code that existed at the time.”

The code has been tightened since the June 5 disaster, which prosecutors have blamed on a crane operator who tested positive for marijuana and who turned himself into police last week. Sean Benschop, 42, is expected to face six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 13 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of risking a catastrophe.

Focus shifted toward Benschop after the toxicology test, officials said. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Benschop had been arrested at least 11 times in the past, convicted of 16 traffic violations, and served two prison terms for drug crimes.

A grand jury is now investigating the disaster, and this week investigators visited the home of the demolition contractor, Griffin Campbell, apparently to collect evidence.

Campbell’s attorney, Kenneth Edelin, spoke to reporters Tuesday and denied his client had approved the use of heavy equipment in the destruction. An attorney for survivors has said because of the site’s proximity to the Salvation Army shop, it was too dangerous to use a backhoe to tear down part of the building.

“That demolition always had to be done by hand,” said Edelin. “He did not give any instructions to anybody to use” heavy equipment, Edelin said of his client.

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