Workers Find Body in Oxnard Strawberry Field

A 41-year-old Oxnard man, who police say may have died of a drug overdose, was found in a strawberry field early Monday.

Farm workers found the body of Joseph Beccera about 7 a.m. in a ditch beside a row of strawberries at T & R Berry Farms off Del Norte Road in Oxnard, authorities said.

“As I was starting work I saw this body laying there on the ground,” said Juan Olivera Alarcon, 44. “I didn’t know at first if he was dead or maybe drunk. It was a little scary.”

Oxnard police initially thought the man may have been killed and dumped in the field but his body bore no signs of trauma, they said. The Ventura County medical examiner’s office said the cause of death is pending the results of toxicology tests.

“It looks like he passed away somewhere else and was driven and dumped there,” Det. Sgt. Jim Seitz of the Oxnard Police Department said.

“It appears it was possibly an overdose. It is not uncommon for folks to panic and maybe dump the body. At this point, we want to find out who he has been with.” Seitz said the death did not appear to be a homicide.

Beccera’s body had been in the ditch for at least a day, Seitz said. It was clad in dark slacks and black suede shoes, authorities said.

“He had blood coming down his head,” said Francisco Rivera, 45, who works on the farm and said he saw the body Monday morning. “He was lying on his side.”

Seitz said there was blood near the mouth, which, he said, could have been caused by a reaction to drugs or alcohol.

Police sealed off a large part of the field as they attempted to gather evidence in blustery Santa Ana winds.

The ranch manager said the discovery shocked workers and caused a delay in picking the fields. “For us, it’s hard to imagine that someone dumped a body out here,” said the manager, who identified himself only as Mario.

“It is strange to wake up and go to work and find this.”