Anaheim : Unidentified Man Found Dead in Motel

Police said a man found dead at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday in his room at the Sixpence Inn may have been murdered.

In a brief statement issued late Sunday, police said the exact cause of death and circumstances surrounding the suspected homicide were not immediately known.

An autopsy is scheduled today, and that may provide more clues, said a deputy for the county coroner’s office.

The victim has not been identified, police said Sunday night. He was described as being in his 50s and with identification indicating that he is from California, but the exact locale could not be immediately pinpointed, officials said.

Police said that when they arrived shortly after noon, no other persons were found in the room at the motel in the 2020 block of East Via Burton. There were no clues that immediately indicated how or why the victim was killed, they said.

Motel manager Charles Workman said a maid discovered the body “and thought the man was asleep on the floor” when she came to clean up. She notified Workman, however, that something appeared wrong, and “I went to the room and determined that the man had expired.” Workman then notified authorities.

The manager said Sunday night that the unidentified man had been staying at the Sixpence Inn for about two weeks “and was very quiet.” He said that no disturbance had been heard in the man’s room, either by the motel management or persons in adjoining rooms.

Workman said small spatters of blood were found on a wall in the room and on the bed, but he noted that police are not sure of the cause of death, pending an autopsy.