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Severed Head Found in Hollywood Hills Belongs to a Man Slain Recently, Search for More Remains Continues [UPDATED]
The search is underway again today for additional human remains belonging to an apparent homicide victim whose head was discovered Tuesday afternoon in the Hollywood Hills. The head was found by two women walking with several dogs in the hills near the 3200 block of Canyon Drive.
Tuesday night, Los Angeles Police Department sources told the L.A. Times they believe the victim is an Armenian man in his 40s with salt-and-pepper hair, and that the man had likely been recently killed.
Overnight, the scene where the head, which had been inside a plastic bag, was found was secured by the LAPD and the search for additional remains called off until sunrise Wednesday.
LAPD investigators with cadaver dogs will be "joined by a special operations search team from the coroner's office, said coroner's Lt. Joe Bale," according to City News Service. The coroner's office is expected to use dental records to aid in identifying the remains.
Currently, the circumstances surrounding the victim's death, or his identity, remain unknown.
UPDATE 10:05 AM: The LAPD say that, despite previously published reports, the victim's ethnicity has not been confirmed. Detectives believe the man was killed elsewhere, and his head was dumped at the location, said Los Angeles police Officer Rosario Herrera, according to CNS. The head had not been at the location where it was discovered for long, say police. An examination of the head is being conducted today by the coroner's office.
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