Victims Were Seen Together : Link Found in Murder of 2 Near Acton

Investigators have linked the murders of two people whose bodies were found several miles apart near Acton over the weekend, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Monday.

The victims were identified as Karen Denise Lee, 30, and Alvin Norman Crockett, 61, both of South-Central Los Angeles. Detective Gerald Burkes said investigators believe the two knew each other and were slain with the same weapon. An identification card belonging to Lee was found near Crockett’s body.

Dry River Bed

Lee’s body was discovered at 2 p.m. Saturday in the dry bed of the Santa Clara River in an undeveloped area near Crown Valley and Soledad Canyon roads in Acton. The victim was found by a father and son who had been riding in an off-road vehicle in the area. Lee had been shot several times, deputies said.

The next morning, about 6 miles away, a man also driving an off-road vehicle spotted a car parked in a rugged area off the Angeles Forest Highway. Deputies were called to the scene and found Crockett’s body in the car’s trunk. He also had been shot repeatedly. Investigators found Lee’s identification inside the car, deputies said.

Deputies said they believe the victims possibly were shot with a handgun found near Lee’s body. Burkes said the motive for the killings was unknown.

Both Unemployed

Lee was a cosmetologist who had been unemployed recently, Burkes said. Crockett, who also had no job, lived on Social Security, Burkes said.

Investigators found witnesses who saw the victims alive in the South-Central Los Angeles area as late as Friday evening, leading them to believe the slayings occurred later that night, Burkes said. Evidence gathered where the bodies were found also indicates the victims were killed where they were found, he added.

Investigators said they are looking for acquaintances of the victims who may have information on what their activities were late last week.