Police Investigating Discovery of Body Found in a Hole

SAN BERNARDINO – Police have still not been able to identify a body that was discovered in a five foot hole in back of a home on Eleventh St. on Tuesday morning.

The body was partially buried, said police, and was found by the landlord of the home, which is a rental property in the 200 block of East 11th St. Reports said the owner was conducting a maintenance check when she smelled a suspicious odor and called police.

The body was discovered in a backyard in the 200 block of East 11th

Police arrived and found the body in the back yard in a hole that included debris. The case has yet to be ruled a homicide, said Sgt. Gary Robertson of the homicide investigations unit, but the death is considered to be suspicious. “This is not normal,” he said, “finding bodies in holes. It automatically raises suspicion.”

Lt. Paul Williams said the odor was coming from a woodpile under which the body was discovered. He said the foul play has not been ruled out. Robertson said there were pieces of wood and other debris in the hole, the body lying underneath. The body was that of a Hispanic male, said police.

Police, who could not locate the people renting the home, said the body had been dead for at least two days. By Tuesday afternoon, police were seeking a warrant to search the residence.
The cause of death is being determined by an autopsy conducted by the county coroner’s office.

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