Santa Ana : Police Unearth Body From Grave in River Bed

Police on Wednesday unearthed a man’s body from a shallow grave in the bed of the Santa Ana River.

Several hours after the body was discovered, Emilio Perales Morales, 25, a Santa Ana resident, was arrested on suspicion of murder. Morales was booked into County Jail and held on bail.

Police refused to discuss why they suspect Morales of killing the victim, a 35-year-old Santa Ana resident. The cause of death had not been established late Wednesday, but an autopsy was scheduled for today.

The man’s name was withheld pending notification of relatives.

There were no obvious signs of trauma, Lt. Larry Pitzer said. “There were no knife wounds, we saw no gunshot (wounds), we saw no bludgeoning,” Pitzer added. “The man was buried.”

A man who claimed he knew the victim told police Wednesday morning that he thought he knew where a body was buried, authorities said.

The informant--whom police would not identify other than to say he was not the suspect and was not related to either the arrested man or the victim--accompanied an officer to a stretch of the river bed north of 5th Street, Pitzer said.

After digging about an inch down, the officer discovered a human foot in the sandy soil at 9:20 a.m., Pitzer confirmed.

The clothed body was located near a trestle that crosses the river between the Spurgeon Elementary School on one side and the Willowick Golf Course on the other bank, according to deputy coroner Rick Rodriguez, who was at the scene. He said the informant could not remember the victim’s name but claimed that he was a friend.

Morales was arrested at 4:35 p.m. after an interrogation at the police station, Pitzer said.