Roommate of Man Found Slain Is Sought for Questioning

Sheriff’s deputies want to question the roommate of a 72-year-old Manhattan Beach man who was found slain in his home over the weekend.

Officials identified the roommate as a male Latino in his 20s named “Roberto” and acknowledged he is a suspect in the death of Lester Hunter, Deputy Benita Nichol said.

Hunter’s body was discovered about 9 a.m. Sunday by a friend who entered the victim’s home in the 500 block of Larsson Street after Hunter failed to answer knocks. He had been struck in the head with a heavy object and appeared to have been dead for several days, Nichol said.

Investigators also found bloody clothes believed to belong to the roommate.

Two days before his body was found, Hunter’s 1990 Lincoln Continental was impounded as a possible abandoned vehicle on an El Monte street near where the roommate had relatives, Nichol said.

Authorities believe the roommate has either fled or is in the process of fleeing to Mexico.