Body found in car in Kroger parking lot believed to be Cobb man who vanished days ago

ATLANTA — The family of a Kennesaw man who vanished 10 days ago believes he has been found dead in his car in a Kroger parking lot.

Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell spoke to Hasith Nawarathne’s devastated family on Tuesday.

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Police found a body in a Kroger parking lot off Cascade Avenue on Sunday.

Family members said the last time they heard from him was on July 2 as he traveled to Atlanta.

Family members said they knew something was wrong when Hawarathne was a no-show at work and his daily calls to family stopped.

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“It’s terrible how we found him. It’s heartbreaking,” his nephew, Nimantha Herath, said. “The whole family is distraught with this.”

Herath said his uncle was excited to go to a wedding in Florida.

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“He never showed up to the airport to pick up his friend,” Herath said. “That’s when we knew something was totally not right with this picture.”

Police found his white Lexus in the Kroger parking lot and then found a body inside.

What’s unclear is how Nawarathne died and when.

Police and Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office told Channel 2 Action News they are still trying to identify the remains because the body was decomposed.

His nephew said he worked hard to provide for his family in Sri Lanka.

“He was one-of-a-kind,” Herath said. “My uncle cared deeply about others. I did everything I could to be just like him.”

Police have not released details about any possible suspects. The investigation is ongoing.

Homicide investigation underway at troubled South Fulton condo complex, police say Last month, Channel 2 Action News learned that in the last year there have been three murders and 13 assaults reported at the complex.

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