Police Probe Slaying of 2 Elderly Men Who Shared Apartment

Police and medical examiners continued to search for clues in the killings of two elderly San Diego men found Tuesday in their apartment.

The body of George Morales, 67, was discovered about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, when his brother arrived to meet Morales for lunch at his apartment in the 5200 block of Monroe Avenue, near San Diego State University. The brother called police after finding Morales’ body on the floor of his bedroom, Homicide Lt. Dan Berglund said. The room had been ransacked, but police said they did not know if anything had been stolen.

Police later found the body of Leonard Ray Turner, 71, who also lived in the apartment, in another bedroom of the apartment, Berglund said. Turner had been stabbed a number of times in the lower chest.

Morales had been stabbed several times in the neck and may have been shot in the head, Berglund said. The results of autopsies performed on both men were not available Wednesday evening, said Jerry Hillbrand, an investigator for the county medical examiner’s office.

The front screen door of the apartment was closed, but the main door was open, Morales’ brother told police. The room in which Turner’s body was found appeared to have been locked, but the room was broken into, Berglund said.

Both men worked for Dollar Rent a Car on Pacific Highway, Berglund and agency workers said. Turner shuttled car customers to and from the airport; Morales transported cars to and from Orange County and Los Angeles branches of the agency, said Jan Gray, a consultant and dispatcher for the firm.

“It certainly is a shock,” Gray said. “They were some of the nicest people I’ve ever known. They would go out of their way to help anybody.”

Turner worked full time whenever his health allowed, Gray said. A recent illness hospitalized him for two weeks in January, according to Gray and a Sharps Memorial Hospital spokeswoman.