Man Found Dead In Car Trunk In Stanton ID'd

STANTON (CBSLA) – A man whose body was found in the trunk of a car in Stanton was identified by authorities Saturday.

Jeffrey Cheng of Irvine, 31, was the registered owner of the vehicle, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said. Homicide detectives continued efforts to identify a suspect.

Officials did not release the cause of death.

Orange County sheriff's deputies were called about 10 a.m. Friday regarding a suspicious vehicle in the 12000 block of Leafwood Street, said Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

A woman who identified herself only as Jackie noticed that the driver's window was shattered and there was a large amount of blood on the seats and the floorboard, CBSLA's Michele Gile reported.

Another neighbor told deputies that the Lexus may have been parked there Thursday night.

Jackie and the neighbor thought the Lexus might have been smeared with ketchup until they got a closer look.

"I said no, girlfriend, that's blood, and it looks like possibly there is a body in that car, because of the way the blood pattern splatter is going," Jackie said. "I said, that's not ketchup. That's blood. Let's get out of here."

When deputies examined the car, they found the dead man in the trunk, she said.

Crime scene tape kept people away from a second scene around the corner at the Smoketree condominiums.

Officials say it's not immediately clear whether it's related to the body in the Lexus, but a pile of broken glass and blood was spotted in the parking lot.

Anyone with information was asked to call 714-647-7000.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)