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Police say the two murders in Santa Monica are unrelated, but both draw eerie similarities. Both murdered in their multi-family complexes, 3-miles apart, Juliana Redding, found dead on Sunday, and Alexander Merman, found on Wednesday, were discovered in their states at the request of each of their mothers for someone to check on them since communications had lessoned.
However, such cases like this can be found coincidental. "Based on the initial investigation, there is nothing that leads the investigators to believe that this case (Merman) is related to the homicide investigation of Juliana Redding," Santa Monica police Lt. Alex Padilla told KNBC.
Today, Merman's name and story came to the public's eye. A alumnus of Otis College of Art and Design, he moved with his mother to the Los Angeles area in 1985 from Russia and joined the Navy in 1992. Police say that blunt force trauma appears to be the cause of death, but an autopsy will provide the cause of death in upcoming weeks. There was no forced entry into his condo and no suspects have been identified.
As for Redding's investigation, there have been no recent updates from police since yesterday.
Photo by VeryBadLady via Flickr
