A registered sex offender suspected of killing his mother, stepfather and girlfriend climbed a Mississippi cellphone tower before plunging about 300 feet to his death, according to a report.

The Sun Herald said that Anthony Garrett, 41, was convicted of sexual battery in 1985 and 1988.

The triple homicide occurred Saturday in Bay St. Louis, which is along the Gulf Coast.

Garrett died Saturday night as authorities tried to talk him down from the tower in nearby Waveland. The Sun Herald said police weren't sure whether Garrett jumped or fell.

One witness told the Sun Herald that the man who climbed the tower had yelled: "I killed my family."

Authorities identified the murder victims as Garrett's stepfather Wilton Bernard Jr., his mother Jeanie Bernard and girlfriend Kathleen Deese, The Associated Press reported.