Body found near Castaic Lake identified by Coroner’s office

Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigate a body that was found near Castaic Lake on Tuesday. Bobby Block / The Signal
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Medical examiners identified a body found across the street from the Castaic Lagoon as that of Marlon Francisco Menjivartorres, 35, of Castaic.  

Menjivartorres was found in a “riverbed,” across the street from the lower lake at Castaic Lake last week on June 8, according to Sarah Ardalani, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office on Tuesday. 

Last week, investigators at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau, who were initially investigating the case, said they, at that time, did not believe foul play was involved in the death of the 35-year-old.  

The Coroner’s Office did not list a cause of death on their report Tuesday, saying that the cause had been deferred. 

“(The investigator) said there was no obvious signs of trauma, no foul play, but we don’t know until we get the toxicology reports back from the coroner’s office,” said Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the Homicide Bureau last Thursday. “If the coroner does the autopsy and reveals that, ‘Hey, this guy was bashed in the head’ or he’s got a bullet that we didn’t see or some kind of sign that it may have been murder, then we’ll take it over as a murder investigation.” 

A toxicology report, Reynaga said, would be a part of the autopsy, and would aid investigators in determining whether an overdose was involved. Officials had waited to publicly identify Menjivartorres until his next of kin had been notified.  

The 35-year-old was found unresponsive and was first reported at approximately 4 p.m. June 8, near the intersection of Castaic Lake Drive and Lake Hughes Road, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Supervisor Charisma Murillo.  

However, soon after officials arrived on the scene, they found the body across the street from the south side of the Castaic. Menjivartorres was pronounced dead at the scene. 

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