Sheriff’s Deputies Investigate Death of Cypress Girl, 16

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were investigating Tuesday whether a 16-year-old Cypress girl whose body was found buried beneath a pile of pine needles near a flood-control channel in Lakewood was a murder victim.

The fully clothed body of Zuleima Valdez was discovered at 5:45 p.m. Monday by two teen-agers riding bicycles near a paved trail on the Lakewood side of the Coyote Creek flood control channel, Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Wahla said. The channel marks the border between Cypress and Lakewood.

There were no visible signs of trauma on the body, Wahla said. An autopsy was scheduled for later this week to determine the cause of death.

The body was found in a hollow dirt area about 50 feet from the paved path and was partially buried under a pile of pine needles, leading sheriff’s investigators to believe someone attempted to hide the remains, Wahla said. Pine needles from evergreen trees rimming Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Cypress are lightly scattered throughout the area.

Valdez’s parents had reported her missing to Cypress police at 1:25 a.m. Monday, Cypress Police Lt. John Schaefer said. She was last seen at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, when she left her home with a friend to go to the beach, according to Wahla.

Jack D. Weber, the principal at Cypress High School where Valdez was a freshman, described the girl as an average to above-average student who was quiet and well-behaved.

“Overall, she seemed to be doing fine,” Weber said. “Her attendance record was good. We had no knowledge of any conflict . . . in her life.”

Valdez had moved with her family from New York to Cypress just before she started eighth grade at Lexington Junior High School, Principal Pat Savage said.

At Cypress High School, Weber announced the news of Valdez’s death over the school’s public address system and said counseling will be available for students. The flag was lowered to half-staff and a memorial service in the school theater was scheduled for today.

Group counseling sessions held throughout the day drew many of Valdez’s friends as well as students who barely knew her, Weber said.

Times correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.