Zack Hillis and Jeremy Lindsay were found just days apart at the waste management recycling plant in Tacoma, Washington, US, and were only able to be identified using their fingerprints.
Zack Hillis was found on April 12 at the waste management recycling plant after his body was ‘thrown on conveyor belts and crushed’, according to his devastated dad Stacey Hillis.
Mr Hillis told Fox 13: ‘Shredded like trash and thrown on conveyor belts and crushed in the garbage can multiple times. No parents should ever hear that, let alone bury your son.’
Police are investigating Zack’s last moments but Mr Hillis said his son was addicted to fentanyl and suffered from schizophrenia.
He reiterates his son would still be alive if he had been admitted to hospital and not released to a halfway house after spending four months in jail.
The second body discovered at the plant just a few days later on April 15 was 36-year-old Jeremy Lindsay.
Oral Sledge, Jeremy’s dad, said he hopes his son didn’t suffer when his body entered the recycling machine.
He told KCPQ: ‘We just hope and pray he wasn’t alive when he was either put in there or in any process of this recycling centre machinery.
‘He was found on the recycling conveyor belt at a Tacoma recycling centre. The condition of my son’s body requires a closed casket service.
‘He was a talented artist and father who is deserving of a funeral service. We are asking for help raising funds for his funeral and burial.’
Cops said they don’t suspect foul play but officers are struggling to provide the heartbroken families any information.
Shelbie Boyd, from the Tacoma Police Department, confirmed they are waiting for the medical examiner’s final cause of death before providing an update.
She said: ‘There were no homicidal injuries that were immediately observed, but we’re still doing a thorough investigation, still waiting for that medical examiner’s final cause of death to come in.’
Both of the men were only identified using their fingerprints due to the horrific conditions of their bodies.
A spokesperson for JMK Fibers Recycling Centre confirmed the bodies were found on two separate days.
They said: ‘Neither incident involved our employees or persons working at our facility.
‘We stopped operations immediately, instructed employees to leave the area, notified authorities and then cooperated in full with the investigation authorities.’
