MOORPARK : Day Laborer Found Beaten to Death

The body of a day laborer who apparently was beaten to death was found early Monday in a Moorpark orange grove near where he lived with his nephew, sheriff’s deputies said.

Felix Martinez Ruiz, 51, was found about 6:15 a.m. in the grove at Lassen and Cornett avenues by pickers reporting for work, said Sheriff’s Lt. Kathy Kemp.

Deputies arrived about 20 minutes later and found Ruiz appeared to have suffered extensive head injuries. No identification was found on the body. Ruiz was tentatively identified by a passer-by who led detectives to the victim’s nephew. He helped police make a positive identification, Kemp said.

A Sheriff’s Department search-and-rescue team fanned out in the area early Monday afternoon in an unsuccessful search for a weapon and Ruiz’s wallet. Kemp said evidence indicated Ruiz was killed where he was found.

Because the man’s wallet was missing, Kemp said robbery is a possible motive, although she said detectives are in the early stages of their investigation and are conducting wide-ranging interviews.

“We want to see if we can find anyone who saw him last night,” Kemp said. “In what area? Was he with anybody? We’re just trying to find any connection to any people he could have been around.”

An autopsy conducted Monday indicated the death was caused by multiple traumatic injuries to the head inflicted by a blunt object, said Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens. Stevens said Ruiz’s wife lives in Tijuana.