Atlanta crane standoff ends in hanging death

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A man who commandeered a crane at a construction site ended a nearly 21-hour standoff with police early Friday by hanging himself from the structure, authorities said.

Michael Kelly, 23, stepped off the 14-story-high crane at about 2:45 a.m. EDT Friday and hanged himself, police said.

The construction site is near MARTA's Lindbergh Center station, and is being developed into a multi-use complex owned by the transit authority. A BellSouth office is to be part of the complex.

Police and psychiatrists had been negotiating with Kelly by cell phone and passing notes throughout most of the day Thursday. Police shut off air-conditioning in the cab in a bid to encourage him to leave.

Steen Miles, MARTA communications officer, told WSB-TV she spoke to Kelly's parents early Friday morning and they were "very, very grateful" to the city of Atlanta, MARTA police, the media, and the negotiation team dealing with their needs in a "very gentle fashion."

The parents were not on the scene when Kelly hanged himself, Miles said.

The father, Stephen Kelly, who works in construction, thanked Hardin Construction for their financial sacrifice as a result of the incident. The company operates the construction site and had sent home about 450 workers idled by the standoff Thursday.

Police said they believed Kelly scaled a fence early Thursday morning to gain access to the crane, where he climbed a ladder some 250 feet high to reach the cab.

The crane operator found Kelly atop the crane when he reported to work at about 6 a.m. Thursday. Miles said he made some threats to the crane operator, but never said he had a weapon.

Miles said Kelly claimed to be with the FBI working on the Gold Club case, which centers around an adult entertainment club whose owner is on trial in a high-profile federal racketeering case. The Gold Club is a block away from the construction site, in a busy area of the city's popular Buckhead neighborhood.

The crane operator left his cell phone with Kelly and descended to call police.

Throughout the day, Miles said, Kelly had been doing a lot of writing and read a Bible.