Autopsy Pending On Slain UC Riverside Professor

Autopsy Pending On Slain UC Riverside Professor
Source: CBS2.com


Lindon Barrett, a UC Riverside Professor, was found murdered at his Long Beach apartment.

An autopsy is pending on the death of a popular and highly respected UC Riverside English professor whose slain body was discovered in his Long Beach home over the weekend, authorities said.

Lindon Barrett, 46, was discovered by police inside a condominium in the 100 block of West Fifth Street around 9 a.m. Sunday, after neighbors reported smelling a foul odor coming from one of the units, according to a release from the Long Beach Police Department.

Authorities have not yet determined his cause of death, but an autopsy is expected to be performed Wednesday, said Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. John Kadas.

Barrett's badly decomposed body indicated that he had been dead for several days, police said, and further investigation led authorities to believe he may have been murdered.

After finding Barrett's body, investigators at the scene also noticed that Barrett's car -- a two-door black Lexus -- was missing. Police found the parked vehicle near Paramount Boulevard and South Street, and set up a surveillance, police said.

Later that night, Marlon Martinez, 20, of Long Beach returned to the Lexus, and was taken into custody, according to the release.

Martinez was booked on suspicion of murder at the Long Beach jail and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, jail records show.

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