Louisiana Lawn-Care Worker Electrocuted on Job

A Marrero, La. man was mysteriously electrocuted after he leaned against a common outdoor shed.

Robert Harris, 51, died Aug. 21 from an electrical shock he received when he leaned against a metal shed in a backyard, said Col. Robert Garner, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Harris, who had been cutting the grass for the homeowner, was found in the yard by the resident, who alerted authorities, Garner said. An autopsy is being performed by the Jefferson Parish coroner's office, but his death has been ruled accidental by the Sheriff's Office.

Garner said it's unclear what caused the shed to carry an electrical current and noted that inspectors from Jefferson Parish are investigating the incident. Parish officials said they might have more information today on what happened.

Many of Harris' relatives hurried to the home where he died once they received the news. His mother, son and several other relatives stood around the yard and comforted one another as his body was carried out on a stretcher. Several relatives remarked that they had spoken to Harris earlier that day.

After the body, covered in a red blanket, was loaded into the coroner's van, Harris' family held an impromptu prayer circle on the lawn of a nearby home.

Arnell Harris said his brother supported himself by doing odd jobs throughout Marrero, although he wasn't sure whether he regularly cut the grass at the Ames Boulevard residence. Harris said that some people at the scene told him his brother may have been digging in the yard to move some vegetation when he was shocked. Garner could not confirm that information, however.

Harris said his brother was a good-natured man who made friends easily throughout his life on the West Bank. Robert Harris had several children, his brother said.