ME: Man found dead in Lake Carlton died from self-inflicted gunshot wound

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - It has been an excoriating painful two weeks for family and friends of Alvin Ahmed. The UGA grad was seen leaving work July 16 and Gwinnett County Police said they believe they found his body in a lake two days later, but unforeseen complications in the forensics process have yielded an unsettling delay in a positive identification.

Ahmed was working as a pharmacy tech at the Publix grocery store on Atlanta Highway in Loganville. Surveillance video caught him leaving the store with a handful of groceries. The video shows him putting those bags in his car before vanishing. His car was found the next day abandoned in the Publix parking lot. It was unlocked with the groceries still inside.

Two nights later, a body which appeared to match the description of Ahmed was found floating the water of Lake Carlton. The lake is about two miles east of the Publix location. Investigators had hoped to use dental records to determine if the body was Ahmed’s, but detectives said Ahmed’s dental records no longer exist or cannot be found.

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Gwinnett County Police said they are going under the assumption that the body found in the lake is that of Ahmed, but because of a lack of forensic evidence, investigators have put off stating definitively an identity for the body found last Wednesday.

The Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office is now seeking alternative methods to give a positive identification to the body. They are exploring reconstituting fingerprints from the deceased person for comparison to prints that likely belong to Mr. Ahmed. They are also discussing DNA comparison if those efforts fail.

Meanwhile, the medical examiner’s office said Friday investigators have determined the that the deceased person found in the lake died as a result of suicide. Investigators said there was a gunshot wound to the head which was consistent with a suicide. In addition, forensic experts said they have recovered bullet fragments which match a gun and ammunition purchased by Mr. Ahmed in May 2018.

Investigators said because the case remains open and under investigation, they cannot release any further details.

The Gwinnett County Police Department, the Loganville Police Department, and the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office are all cooperating on the case.

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