Employee Found Dead at American Apparel HQ
American Apparel just can't catch a break. An employee was found dead at the company's downtown Los Angeles headquarters yesterday, adding yet another misfortune to the clothing retailer's ever-growing list of public relations woes.
County coroner officials identified the deceased as Danarichie Lyndon Sindo, a 44-year-old native of the Philippines whose Facebook page says he worked as a data analyst for the company since 2008.
Details are still scarce, but LAPD spokesman Lt. Andrew Neiman confirmed to Gawker that Sindo reported feeling sick and vomiting before leaving to "get some air" on the roof. He "then went back inside and eventually went either into the bathroom or locker room and later was discovered deceased." According to a source, the body was discovered around 5 p.m. in one of the building's fifth-floor restrooms.
The news comes amidst an ongoing PR nightmare for the flailing hipster fashion retailer, including bailing investors, lawsuit-happy shareholders, rumors of bankruptcy, and plummeting stock values.
The LAPD spokesman told us that they are not investigating the case, at least as of yet, but that an autopsy to determine Sindo's cause of death is still pending.
Update: Peter Schey, a lawyer for American Apparel, e-mailed us a statement this evening:
We tragically lost one of our IT department members yesterday, Dan Lyndon Sindo. Dan was a father of two young children, a very valued and important member of our technology team, and even more importantly a really good person and friend to many at American Apparel. Preliminary accounts from the authorities as to the cause of Dan's death were due to medical related illness. We will not know the specific cause until the authorities complete an autopsy. We are keeping keep Dan and his family in our thoughts and prayers.