Pala
A partially decomposed body discovered just off California 76 in Pala has been identified as that of a 22-year-old Oceanside woman, authorities said Thursday.
Melissa White appears to have been strangled, although the exact cause of death will not be determined until an autopsy is performed today, a San Diego County Coroner’s Office spokesman said.
White’s nude body was discovered in a culvert just east of Pala Mission Road about 4 p.m. Wednesday by a passer-by, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said. Authorities would not speculate as to when White died, saying they wanted to wait until an autopsy was completed. Homicide detectives are investigating the case.
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