Man’s body found with apparent stab wounds in Angeles National Forest — the second in nearly 2 months
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide detectives are looking for information surrounding the death of a man whose body was discovered Sunday in the Angeles National Forest.
Hikers were in the vicinity of Angeles Forest Highway Mile Marker 21.08 on Sunday afternoon when they found what appeared to be a dead body, according to a release issued by Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Deputies from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station and paramedics from the sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau responded and subsequently pronounced the victim dead at the scene at 1:08 p.m., Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, confirmed Tuesday.
A preliminary investigation revealed the body appeared to have sustained multiple stab wounds to the upper torso, according to the sheriff’s release. The statement also described the victim as an adult Asian male.
But Winter said the ethnicity of the victim and the exact trauma sustained could not be ascertained, due to decomposition of the body, and a full autopsy would be needed.
Winter said officials were in the process of matching the body to people who have been reported missing, but had no concrete form of identification and had not yet notified any next of kin.
“We have a feeling who it might be, but we’re not sure,” he said.
The body is the second to have been discovered in the same general vicinity in nearly two months — on March 2, the body of 35-year-old Palmdale resident Anthony James Willis was discovered on Angeles Forest Highway Mile Marker 18.87 by a passerby.
Willis was also found to have sustained upper body trauma. An autopsy later revealed the cause of his death to be sharp force injury, consistent with stabbing, the Coroner’s Office reported at the time.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous information can also be provided by calling the Crime Stoppers tip line at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).
UPDATES:
May 2, 4:25 p.m.: This article was updated with information following an interview with Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
This article was originally published May 1 at 6:15 p.m.
