The body of a homeless man was found on the sidewalk in front of the home of the bishop of the Fargo Roman Catholic Diocese early Monday, police said. A newspaper carrier found the body of Vernon Weigand, 43, about 7 a.m., and flagged down a police officer.
Police said Weigand's address was a Fargo homeless shelter and he had sometimes come to the church for food.
He appeared to have been dead for several hours, wearing a jacket and a hooded undershirt, but no hat or gloves, Police Sgt. Jeff Skuza said. The temperature in the Fargo area overnight ranged from 10 degrees below zero to 15 below. It was 14 below zero shortly before 7 a.m., Skuza said.
The body showed some signs of trauma, which may have been the result of a fall, Skuza said. An autopsy was planned.
"It's not unusual with exposure deaths to have some hemorrhage, and so there is some sign of trauma in the face," Skuza said.
"But it also appears he may have taken a tumble down the stairs from the prints in the snow and everything else. So, it's really hard to speculate right now whether or not he passed away on his own, or if someone assaulted him, and that's something we're going to have to investigate and determine."
Bishop Samuel Aquila was in Grand Forks for meetings and no one was staying at his home Sunday night, diocese spokeswoman Tanya Watterud said. Nearby, St. Mary's church was locked from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., she said.
In an interview on Catholic radio station KWTL in Grand Forks, the bishop issued a statement saying he received word of Weigand's death "with great sadness" and asked for prayers for Weigand and his family.
"The details of his death have not been fully communicated to me yet," the bishop's statement said.
"I know that he was a homeless man with family in the area and that he was known to authorities. I ask all of the faithful of the diocese to pray for the repose of his soul and also for his family and those who were near to him."
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