A body found dumped under a bridge in a remote part Weld County is that of an adult man who died of a blow to the head.
The body was found Friday near Lochbuie, about 2 miles north of the Adams County line.
Weld County medical examiners completed an autopsy Saturday and determined the unidentified body was a Latino man, about 30 years old. The man was wearing only blue boxer shorts.
The autopsy revealed the man had suffered from blunt force trauma to the head and that the body was likely dumped in the past 10 days, according to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.
The gender of the person was not initially determined in part because the body was frozen to a blanket that was wrapped around it, said Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez.
Authorities were able to unwrap the blanket only enough to see a foot and confirm it was a human body, Martinez said.
Medical examiners identified two tattoos on the man’s forearms. One on the right arm was of the Grim Reaper, and one on the left arm was of a wooden cross with an angel, and the word “Bendgo.”
The man had a small mustache, goatee and straight pencil-thin sideburns. Two of the lower bottom teeth were partially filled with gold crowns, according to the release.
Because Weld County is rural and near the Denver metro area, killers have used it as a dumping ground, Martinez said.
“(But) we haven’t had one in years,” she said.
Investigators took fingerprints and sent them to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
“Identification is key to solving homicides,” Martinez said.
Investigators then can talk to relatives, friends and business associates of the victim to try to determine what led to the death, she said.
Otherwise, the investigation is severely hampered.
One body that was dumped in a rural area of Weld County in the mid-1980s has never been identified and the homicide remains unsolved, she said.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Investigator Fred Walker at 970-356-4015, ext. 2855, or at 800-436-9276, ext. 2855, or call Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
