LOS ANGELES : Frozen Bodies Identified as Restaurant Owner, Manager
The frozen bodies of a woman and man found in the walk-in freezer of a busy downtown restaurant last weekend have been identified as the restaurant’s owner and manager, who disappeared almost nine months ago, police said Wednesday.
The pair had been strangled, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Lydia Katash, 39, the owner of Jack’s Placita restaurant, and her boyfriend, Eli Massalton, the manager, were last seen one night in January, just before the restaurant closed for the day. Katash’s ex-husband, Jack, told police the two might have been carrying as much as $15,000 in receipts at the time of their disappearance.
The bodies, wrapped in cloth, were discovered Saturday morning by an employee cleaning the restaurant’s food locker, police said.
Police said the bodies had been concealed in the freezer for “an extended period of time.”
Los Angeles Police Lt. Daniel Lang said police have no suspects.
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