The body of a 62-year-old woman was found today in a dumpster in El Monte.
The body was discovered about 10:30 a.m. in the 3300 block of Maxson Road, according to Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
El Monte police found the woman's body inside the dumpster after responding to a "suspicious circumstances" call from a person who reported that a man was seen dragging a female body toward the dumpster, Navarro-Suarez said.
Security video showed a man pushing a plastic bin toward dumpsters, then returning minutes later without the bin.
Family members identified the victim as Florinda Velasquez Fernandez and said she lived in a mobile home park and rented a room in a trailer where at least two men also lived. Her family added she had immigrated from El Salvador three years ago.
As the woman's relatives arrived at the scene, their anguish pierced the quiet evening.
"Every time I visited her, I smelled marijuana. I was telling her I was concerned for her safety. I was worried that they would do something to her. She said, 'No, I'm not scared,'" Sara Velazquez, the victim's daughter, said.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
One person was detained for questioning, and several witnesses were questioned, according to Navarro-Suarez.
Information was not immediately available on the woman's cause of death.
Sheriff's detectives, who were assisting El Monte police in the investigation, asked anyone with information about the woman's death to contact the Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. An anonymous report can be made by calling 800-222-TIPS.
