Sgt. Tom Lorenz of Glendale PD shows the location
where the suitcase was found this morning.
Photos by Mary O’KEEFE

By Mary O’KEEFE

At 9 a.m. this morning, a public works employee was cleaning the debris basin near Glorietta Park between Verdugo and Cañada boulevards when he discovered a large suitcase that had apparently been thrown off the bridge. He found it suspicious and contacted Glendale Police Dept. When officers arrived, they too found it suspicious.

“In order not to contaminate any of the evidence, they treated it as a crime scene immediately. They brought in Glendale detectives and Forensics and the L.A. County Coroner’s Office,” said Sgt. Tom Lorenz, Glendale Police Dept. spokesperson.

Forensics opened the suitcase and “unfortunately discovered a male deceased.”

There were no obvious signs of trauma (gunshot or knife wounds). The Coroner’s Office has yet to identify the victim. There is no information on age or race.

This is very unusual activity for this area and is the first homicide for Glendale this year, added Lorenz.

This is a quiet neighborhood and normally what happens in this type of situation is the crime occurred elsewhere and the body is dumped far away from the location of the crime. Neighbors should not be worried, he said.

Glorietta Park is a very active park and is open until 10 p.m. Glendale police are asking for the public’s help on anything they might have seen within the last 24 hours. The number for GPD is (818) 548-4840. Anonymous tips can be made by calling (800) 507-7867.

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