She Didn’t Notice Body Slumped in Seat : Meter Maid Gives Three Tickets to Dead Driver

A meter maid put three parking tickets on the window of a battered car during a 24-hour period before noticing that the driver was dead.

Carol Robbins placed the first ticket on the old blue Oldsmobile on Monday. The car was taking up two spaces in a downtown city parking lot.

Later that day, she put a second ticket on the tinted windshield.

Tuesday morning, as Robbins put a third ticket on the car, she noticed someone on the front seat, almost under the dashboard. She rapped on one of the closed windows a couple of times and moved on.

When Robbins came back to the car a fourth time shortly before noon Tuesday, she noticed that the person inside had not moved and called in to report it.

When the car was opened officers found the body of a 45-year-old woman who police believe committed suicide sometime Monday. The woman, whose identification was withheld pending notification of relatives, had a single gunshot wound in the head.

A .44-caliber revolver was found beneath her body. Police Officer Mike Stewart said the woman reportedly had been despondent over family problems.

As the body was being removed from the car, Robbins watched nearby, amazed that she had written three tickets before noticing something was wrong.

“It’s not unusual to find people sleeping in their cars,” she said, shaking her head. “There’s one man who I find asleep here in his car every morning.”