Three men are found dead in a California cemetery sparking triple homicide investigation
- Three adult males were found dead among grave markers at Perris Valley Cemetery Monday
- Sheriff’s department would not reveal how the men died, but their deaths are being investigated as homicides
- Witnesses reported seeing two of the victims laying next to one another, possibly on top of a grave, and the third a few steps away
- Press release from the agency described the triple homicide as a an ‘isolated incident’ posing no ‘perceived threat to the public’
Three men were found slain on Monday morning on the grounds of a cemetery in Southern California, in what police are investigating as a triple homicide.
It was not immediately known how the three victims at the Perris Valley Cemetery died, said Riverside County Sheriff spokeswoman Deputy Robyn Flores.
Flores said the cemetery remained closed to the public and that there was no other information immediately available.
Aerial footage shows the lifeless bodies of three men ‘blurred’ lying in the middle of the Perris Valley Cemetery in Southern California on Monday
Riverside sheriff’s deputies were summoned to the scene and set up tents to shield the bodies from view
The trio of victims were found suffering from unspecified injuries and their deaths are being investigated as a triple homicide
According to a press release from the agency, deputies from the Perris Station responded to the 900 Block of North Perris Boulevard at around 10.30am after a report of three men laying unresponsive on a burial plot.
The trio of victims were found suffering from unspecified injuries.
Aerial footage from CBS Los Angeles and still photos taken at the scene showed the victims’ bodies laying in the grass amid bouquet of flowers and Valentine’s Day balloons.
The sheriff’s department would not say whether the men were killed at the cemetery, or whether the bodies were dumped there after the fact.
The sheriff’s department would not say whether the men were killed at the cemetery, or whether the bodies were brought there later
Two of the bodies were next to one another, possibly on top of a grave marker, and the third was a short distance away
Detectives worked into the evening Monday gathering evidence as part of the probe
Witnesses reported seeing one of the victims hunched other, another laying face down and the third wrapped in something resembling a sleeping bag, according to KTLA5.
Two of the bodies were next to one another, possibly on top of a grave marker, and the third was a short distance away.
Detectives from the Central Homicide Unit were called to the cemetery and took over the homicide investigation.
‘This appears to be an isolated incident and there is no perceived threat to the public,’ the press release stated.
The identities of the victims are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Investigators are working to determine if Monday’s triple homicide is connected to two shootings that took place in Perris earlier this month,
Perris Mayor Michael Vargas released a statement saying he was ‘heartbroken by the horrific crimes that have taken place today.’