Late Find of Likely Body Part Called Oversight

The newly discovered concrete block that possibly contains part of a murdered 12-year-old boy’s body is a key piece of evidence that police say they simply overlooked during a search of a La Habra neighborhood last year.

Forensic experts determined Monday that the concrete cylinder, which is believed to contain the pelvic remains of Juan Delgado, was dumped behind an abandoned nursing home a year ago, said La Habra Police Sgt. Jeff Love.

A neighbor spotted the block at the Walnut Care Center on Saturday and called police. The discovery ignited speculation in the area that the cylinder was recently placed at the site by a second person who might have been involved in the slaying and dismembering of the boy.

One suspect, John Samuel Ghobrial, 28, has been in custody awaiting trial on charges that he sexually assaulted then murdered the sixth-grader. Ghobrial was arrested last year shortly after six concrete blocks containing other parts of Juan’s body were found close to Ghobrial’s home, which is two blocks from the nursing home.

Police on Monday sought to ease neighbors’ fears that a killer was at large.

“We are not looking at other suspects, but we are not closing our minds to accomplices,” Love said. “I don’t want the community to be alarmed for no reason. I do believe that the crime scene was so large, I think we just missed it.”

The Orange County coroner’s office is scheduled to examine the remains today. A source close to the investigation said that if the part turns out to be the pelvis, the only part of Juan’s body still missing, it could provide evidence of a sexual assault.

That would help prosecutors, who must prove that Juan was sexually assaulted before being murdered in order to seek the death penalty. Ghobrial’s trial is expected to begin in January.

Love said experts determined how long the concrete cylinder had been at the nursing home by examining bugs and plant growth found around it, and the appearance of the soil.

Neighbors said the property has long been abandoned. A spokesman for the state’s Department of Health Services said the nursing home license for the site expired in early January 1998, more than two months before Juan was killed.