Identities released of victims in Hall County chicken plant chemical leak

Six employees lost their lives on Thursday

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office has released the identities of the six victims of a chemical leak at a chicken processing plant on Thursday.


The following is a press release from the HCSO:

Hall County Sheriff’s Office Investigators have notified next of kin of the deceased victims in the Thursday morning, Jan. 28, industrial incident involving liquid nitrogen at Foundation Food Group on Memorial Park Drive in Gainesville.

The six victims, five men and one woman, are identified as follows:

Jose DeJesus Elias-Cabrera, 45, of Gainesville

Corey Alan Murphy, 35, of Clermont

Nelly Perez-Rafael, 28, of Gainesville (female)

Saulo Suarez-Bernal, 41, of Dawsonville

Victor Vellez , 38, of Gainesville

Edgar Vera-Garcia, 28, of Gainesville

Sheriff’s Office investigators obtained the age information above from Foundation Food Group.

The Sheriff’s Office involvement in the case still remains the ongoing the death investigation. The bodies have been transported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for autopsy. The Sheriff’s Office will provide an update when autopsy results are received.

The Georgia Fire Marshal’s Office Investigations Unit, Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are working all other aspects of the investigation.