Dolphin trainer accused of animal abuse found dead days before taking post in Atlanta aquarium
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SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 20: In this handout photo provided by SeaWorld San Diego, Sadie, a 13-year-old bottlenose dolphin at SeaWorld San Diego, swims with her newborn calf at the marine park's Dolphin Stadium October 20, 2014 in San Diego, California. The calf, born on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 3:32 p.m., is strong and appears to be in good health. She is nursing regularly and continues to bond with its mother. This is the 80th bottlenose dolphin born at SeaWorld San Diego. (Photo by Mike Aguilera/SeaWorld San Diego via Getty Images) (2014 SeaWorld San Diego)
A Spanish dolphin trainer who was set to become a senior vice president at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta was found dead inside his vehicle at an airport in Spain, the Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting.
Authorities say José Luis Barbero's death is being treated as a suicide. His body was found at the Palma de Mallorca airport.
Barbero disappeared earlier this week, two days before another troubling video showed up online.
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WSB-TV broke this story last month with the original video that animal activists say shows Barbero hitting and kicking dolphins.
Animal activists say the most recent video shows Barbero using aggressive training techniques at a theme park in Spain.
Barbero was supposed to start work at the Georgia Aquarium the first week of March.
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