By Perry Smith and Jessica Boyer

A backup in Coroner’s Office investigation left a possible murder victim at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital more than five days after the death, according to a coroner with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

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The body of a man found with his throat slashed in a Valencia warehouse Aug. 14 was reportedly picked up by coroners Tuesday, said Lt. David Smith of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.  

Related: Man Dies After Being Found With Throat Slit In Valencia Warehouse

As a result of the delay, detectives aren’t positive if they have a murder weapon, or something the dead man might have used to kill himself.

“Until then, we’re just kind of waiting,” said Lt. John Corina of the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau. “Nobody saw this go down, and there’s no clear cut witnesses.”

Related:  Man Found With Throat Slit ID’d, Waiting For Family To Be Notified

Corina declined to discuss any specifics about evidence found in the warehouse last week.

Detectives have been trying to a make a positive identification of the man, who has so far only been identified as a 41-year-old Mexican national.

The autopsy has yet to be assigned to an investigator in the Coroner’s Office, Smith said, meaning there was no scheduled date yet for the autopsy.

“That’s just how it is right now,” Smith said, explaining the Coroner’s Office has been backed up with investigations recently. “We’re not static — (the response time) depends on how busy we are and where the bodies are, and it’s a big county. (The delay) is not unusual.”

Corina, the lead homicide detective on the case, said the wait has been making it more difficult to close the investigation, which is a suspected suicide.

The identity of the 41-year-old Hispanic male found with his throat slit in the Valencia Industrial Center on Thursday has still not been released, due to problems finding the next of kin, officials said.

“The man is of Mexican nationality and has no relatives living in the United States or Santa Clarita,” Corina said. “He worked at Exclusive Powder Coating.”

Officials are still looking into what happened to the man and are unsure if they have the suicide or murder weapon, Corina said.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies responded to a report of a man found with his throat slit in the bathroom of a warehouse in the Valencia Industrial Center at 11:25 a.m.

Los Angeles County Fire Department officials transported the victim to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“He has been identified but we have had no confirmation of next of kin being notified,” said Craig Harvey, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner’s office. “He has not been examined so we don’t know what we’re dealing with. (The case) came to the coroner as a suicide versus homicide.”

While initial reports said the cause of death was suicide, the investigation remains ongoing, according to officials.

The two businesses that occupy the warehouse where the man was found are Platinum Pets and Exclusive Powder Coating Inc.

Exclusive Powder Coating is a business “specializing in powder coating, sandblasting and pad printing,” according the company’s website. Exclusive Powder Coating Inc. is owned and operated by Mark Kier, who also owns Platinum Pets.

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Source: Santa Clarita News
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