Police Seek to Identify Body Found in Irvine Apartment

Police continued to search for clues Saturday after the discovery of a badly decomposed body in an Irvine apartment rented by a woman who has been missing for two weeks.

Irvine police found the body Friday while investigating the disappearance of Eileen Margaret Casey, 55, who had not appeared at work since Aug. 20.

An autopsy was conducted Saturday, but the body was so badly decomposed that the identity can only be determined after a review of dental records, Police Sgt. Jim Potts said. Moreover, authorities have yet to pinpoint the cause of death, he said.

The body was found in the bedroom of Casey’s unit at the Heritage Point Apartments near the Santa Ana Freeway and Jeffrey Road after the woman’s co-workers told police she had failed to report for days at either of two jobs she held, Potts said.

Police checked the apartment about a week after the woman was reported missing, but did not discover a body during that search.

Casey apparently had shared the apartment with one or more teen-agers, and at least one person was believed to have been living at the apartment during the past week, police said.

But authorities would not release further details, saying the case was still under investigation.