Body found in Bay Terraces parking lot

Bay Terraces — A dead man was found in the parking lot of a Bay Terraces complex Sunday morning, and homicide detectives are investigating the death as suspicious.

Police were told of the body shortly after 9 a.m., San Diego police Lt. Mike Hastings said. When officers arrived at the townhome complex on Penamint Row near Ritva Place, they found a man who wasn’t breathing and was unconscious.

He had also suffered blunt force trauma to his torso, but it’s unclear if the trauma was accidental or inflicted by someone, Hastings said. Officers performed CPR, but the victim was declared dead.

“Out of an abundance of caution we are treating this as a suspicious death,” the lieutenant said.

An autopsy will likely be completed Monday or Tuesday, he said.

A resident of the complex said two of her neighbors found the man, who was on his back in an empty car port parking spot. They checked on him and called 911 when they couldn’t find a pulse.

“They started screaming there was a dead body,” said Sylvia Haley, who has lived in the complex for about six years.

She said she and other residents believe the man is a transient. Haley, 46, said the discovery was “shocking and unnerving.”

“Late at night you could hear a pin drop here,” she said. “I’m floored.”

Authorities said the man was white and appeared to be in his 40s.