LAGUNA NIGUEL : Body Discovered in Condominium

The bloodied body of a retiree was found by neighbors in his condominium Wednesday, authorities said.

The man’s fully clothed body was discovered in a bedroom that Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Richard J. Olson described as being in a “state of disarray.”

Neighbors entered the condominium after becoming suspicious when the man did not answer several telephone calls, Olson said.

Olson declined to identify the dead man, pending notification of relatives, but neighbors said the victim was Robert Wood, who was retired from Hughes Aircraft.

Olson said the man suffered severe head trauma, but declined to elaborate. He said investigators have not yet determined whether any items were missing from the condominium.

Neighbor Genevieve Moulton, who discovered the body, told a group of reporters: “I can tell you there was a murder and there was lots of blood. It was Bob Wood. . . . I know because I found the body.”

Moulton was then whisked inside the condominium by homicide investigators.

After the body’s discovery, sheriff’s deputies cordoned off a section of the Crystal Cay Laguna Heights condominium complex just east of Street of the Golden Lantern.

“Some people evidently talked to him last night and then went to his home when they couldn’t get a hold of him by telephone,” Olson said. “His front door was closed but not locked, and they went in, found him dead and called the police.”

Neighbors who live in the Spanish-style stucco and red-tile roof condominiums described Wood as a friendly man who lived alone.

“We didn’t really know him, but he seemed like a friendly man who took walks several times a day,” said David Wheatley, a Crystal Cay resident.

“It seems strange anyone would want to kill him,” said Lynda Sydor, a postal employee who delivers mail regularly to the complex. “He seemed like a very nice man.”

Neighbors said they were shocked that the crime had occurred in their quiet neighborhood.

“This is a really quiet, mellow neighborhood and friendly enough that I leave my door unlocked,” said Elaine Moreta, 24.

However, other neighbors said recent burglaries had caused them to think about extra security.

“I just moved here from Mission Viejo, and we picked this neighborhood because it seemed so quiet,” said a young woman who requested that she not be identified. “But it’s been different lately.”