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A burned body found near Castaic Lake is not that of missing teen Bryce Laspisa but another man who was killed in Los Angeles, authorities announced today.
The body was identified only as a black male who had been killed in Los Angeles and then dumped far from home.
"The guy was killed in South Central (Los Angeles) and the suspects went looking for a place to dump the body," Detective Eddie Brown of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Homicide Bureau told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal. "They were just looking for a chance to get off the highway and they were not even familiar with the area."
The burning body was found September 4 by firefighters just off Lake Hughes Road near Castaic Lake, prompting a murder investigation. A brother and sister have been charged with the murder, and the sister's husband was charged with accessory to murder and arson, Brown told the Signal.
Brown said the murder has nothing to do with disappearance of 19-year-old Laspisa, who went missing in the same area August 30. Laspisa's crashed SUV was found on an access road leading to the main boat launch at Castaic Lake.
The delay in identifying the body, and the proximity of its location, prompted public speculation that it was Laspisa, but police were merely keeping quiet until they could announce the identity of the body, Brown said.
Laspisa's disappearance has triggered an intense search. His father, unfortunately, had his car broken into while out searching for his son yesterday.
Related:
Missing Man's Dad Victim of Burglary While Out Searching For His Son
