Woman Found Dead on Beach Is Identified
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A woman whose nude body was found on a stretch of beach south of Mussel Shoals over the weekend was identified Monday as 18-year-old Crystal Nichole Hamilton of Oxnard.
She died as a result of drowning, said Senior Deputy Medical Examiner Mitch Breese.
Hamilton’s body was found by a fisherman early Sunday along a rocky beach below the Ventura Freeway, about a quarter of a mile from the nearest freeway exit.
No identification was found near the body. Authorities were able to identify her through fingerprints.
An autopsy was conducted Sunday, but the cause of her death was not released until Monday afternoon because of an ongoing investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
“We’re still trying to determine whether there was a crime involved or whether it was an accident,” said Sheriff’s Department spokesman Eric Nishimoto.
Nishimoto declined to comment on whether Hamilton may have been sexually assaulted or when and where she may have drowned.
Oxnard police said Hamilton had not been reported missing.
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