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The body discovered in a trunk on a San Bernardino street has been identified as an El Monte man who had been missing since the weekend. Residents living in the 600 block of West Courtland Drive in San Bernardino complained to police about a car that had been parked in their neighborhood for about four days, saying it smelled bad. Police responded at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday and discovered a body in the trunk, the San Bernardino Sun reports.
Investigators determined that the body belonged to Miguel Evora, 28, the owner of the black 2000 Ford Focus in question. Evora, who lived in El Monte, was reported missing on September 19 by his mother, according to Lt. Rich Lawhead.
Investigators did not reveal the cause of death, but said there were signs of foul play and they are investigating Evora's death as a homicide, according to The Press Enterprise. They believe that Evora was killed elsewhere, then transported to Courtland Drive—which has been described as a relatively quiet neighborhood—but they're not sure where the crime happened yet.
Police were able to identify Evora using his tattoos, as his fingerprints were not in any databases. Neither Evora's car, nor his license plate, were in the missing-person report, so detectives weren't searching for the car prior to the complaints about it from neighbors.
Anyone with additional information should call detectives at (909) 384-5615.
