Body of Missing Patient Found in Closet at Home for Retarded

The decomposed body of a patient who had reportedly left a South-Central Los Angeles home for the mentally retarded was discovered in a nailed-shut closet, police said Saturday.

The facility’s caretaker, who reportedly disappeared shortly before the body was found, is being sought, police said.

Police said the body found at Heaven’s Crest Board and Care Center, 334 W. 41st St., was that of Ray Walker, 31, a patient who had been missing from the home since August. Detective J. D. Furr said Walker, who had the mental ability of a 2-year-old, had been a patient there since last February.

The body was discovered Friday by the facility’s owner, Yasmi Miller, who told police that caretaker Rudolph Harris was supposedly living in the center and caring for its six patients, police said.

One neighbor told police that Harris had said the missing patient had been taken to a hospital, where he died of cancer.

“All we know is that is untrue, and Mr. Harris is missing,” Furr said. “We are treating this case as a homicide, and Mr. Harris is the prime suspect.” They said the victim died between two and six weeks ago.

Cause of death had not yet been determined. It was unclear whether the man died after being locked in the closet or before he was placed there.

A handyman who also lives at the facility called the owner because Harris had not shown up for work since Thursday morning, Furr said.

Furr said the owner and a neighbor thought it was strange to find a closet nailed shut. When they pried it open, they discovered the body buried under several blankets. The closet was in the room where the missing patient had been living.

Miller declined to comment.