Los Angeles police asked for help Friday in their investigation into the discovery of a man with a gunshot wound to the head who was found dead a day earlier in the back of a U-Haul truck in Los Angeles' Mid-City area.
Authorities responded at about 11 a.m. to Redondo Boulevard and Apple Street, where they found the U-Haul truck parked on the street in a residential neighborhood. The man found dead inside the truck was identified by the coroner as 50-year-old Henry Jernigan.
A woman noticed the truck had been parked in the neighborhood for some time and decided to call the company. U-Haul sent an employee to check out the vehicle and it was then that the grisly discovery was made. The employee lifted the truck's rear gate and discovered a tarp wrapped around what appeared to be a decomposing human body, police said.
"We're recovering the van, which was reported stolen earlier this month," said Lt. Robert Peters. "(The employee) found something in the back of it; he felt it might be remains, so he called police."
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On Friday, Los Angeles police issued a statement requesting help in finding the person "responsible for the murder." Detectives determined the man suffered a gunshot wound to the head. The death was determined to be a possible homicide because the body was wrapped tightly under a tarp, police said.
The discovery has left residents in the immediate area feeling uneasy.
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"I feel so bad for that person," said Nuvia Recinos, who made the call to U-Haul that led to the investigation. "I say a prayer for him or her."
Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact West Bureau Homicide detectives at 213-382-9470.
