Calif. police find dead body in large suitcase left in ditch

GLENDALE, Calif. - County public works employees in Glendale discovered a dead body in a large suitcase Monday, reports CBS Los Angeles. They found the suitcase in the Verdugo Wash, which is a man-made water drainage ditch.

According to the station, the discovery was made around 9 a.m. in the Los Angeles County suburb. Officers arrived on the scene a few hours later and determined that a deceased man had been stuffed inside the suitcase.

"It was a large, black canvas... vinyl suitcase... with canvas or burlap coming out of the bottom with some tape at the very end," Grant Wilder, who came upon the investigation with his wife, told CBS LA.

The station reports that there was no evidence of gunshot or stab wounds on the body, and homicide detectives do not yet know how the victim was killed.

"We don't believe at this particular time that there's any threat to the community," said Glendale police Capt. Tom Lorenz. "This person looks like he was targeted and deliberately murdered and thrown off the bridge here. Body-dumped is what we call it."

Authorities believe this was an isolated incident, according to CBS LA. Still, residents were uneasy.

"This is shocking. I've lived here for 30 years and I've never heard of a murder in our neighborhood," Maritza Vega Gentry told the station.