Torso of Dead Woman Discovered in Coronado

A headless, armless, legless body wrapped in plastic was discovered Thursday in quiet Coronado, the town between the bay and the sea where crime is virtually unknown.

Wrapped in a brown plastic yard bag resting on a piece of harder clear plastic, the female torso appeared to have been tossed at random onto a strip of grass in the 500 block of C Avenue, neighbors said.

Joggers saw the bag as early as 5:30 a.m., police said. As the morning grew warmer, the bag drew a swarm of flies, neighbors said. Suspecting the smell was from a rotting animal, an animal control officer was dispatched about 11 a.m.--only to discover what some neighbors already knew, that the remains were human.

Police, who arrived shortly after that, launched a homicide probe but said the body was so decomposed that no other identification, not even race, was possible. An autopsy was set for today.

The discovery marked the second time in a week that decomposing remains were found in San Diego County. The dismembered body of Robert R. Evans, 55, was found last Friday night in a canyon near Miramar Naval Air Station.

Police said Thursday that it was unclear whether there was any link between the two discoveries.

The Sheriff’s Department is helping Coronado Police in the case of the body found Thursday.

Coronado, sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and San Diego Bay, traditionally enjoys the lowest violent crime rate in the county.

That’s partly because of geography and partly due to demography, according to police. There are only two routes in and out of town. And an older, more stable population contributes significantly to the low crime rate, police said.

Many local residents--the phone book is littered with retired admirals, captains and commanders--move to the town’s 6 square miles of manicured lawns to escape big-city problems, and what crime there is, according to statistics compiled by the San Diego Assn. of Governments, consists mostly of auto thefts and burglaries.

Last year, Coronado police recorded one homicide investigation. And none of the homeowners in the 500 block of C Avenue seemed at all frightened Thursday night by the discovery of a decomposing body. Most seemed to find it exciting--in a grim sort of way.

“This is the biggest drama I’ve ever seen in the 41 years I’ve lived here,” said Leona Clapp, 81. Added Edward Campbell, 80, who has lived on the block for 48 years, “It’s odd. You have to take it in stride.”

The body was found on a strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street. Neighbors speculated it had been lifted out of a car that detoured off the main drag a block away, Orange Avenue.

“I think they dropped it off in this neighborhood because we’re so quiet and harmless that we wouldn’t locate it very fast,” Clapp said. “It’s a matter of chopping up a body and leaving it someplace.”

Campbell said he noticed the bag about 7 a.m. and thought it was just trash. Later, he said, he looked more carefully and called authorities.

“I looked at it and thought that sure looks like a human body,” Campbell said. “The plastic was very tight. . . . I could see the shoulders and the crease of the buttocks.”

Police, though, said other neighbors had also called to complain about the smell and believed it was a rotting animal. That’s why, initially, an animal control officer was sent to the scene, police said.

Police cars pulled up quickly after that and cut open the bag, neighbors said.

The smell, neighbors said, was awful. “The odor became so overwhelming we just had to come inside,” said Evelyn Wachter.

Times Staff Writer Julie Tamaki contributed to this report.