The body of a man found inside a parked car in southeast Santa Maria last week did not have any apparent wounds and showed no signs of a struggle, according to an autopsy performed Wednesday.
The Santa Barbara County coroner's autopsy revealed nothing out of the ordinary with the body, which was found badly decomposed inside a 1991 Lincoln Town Car parked in the 1000 block of East Hancock Avenue the night of May 18, said sheriff's Sgt. Erik Raney.
Results of a toxicology test may not be available for several weeks, he added.
Raney said the coroner could not positively identify the man, but detectives at the Banning Police Department say they are sure the man is Patrick Pearse, 45, of Santa Maria.
Pearse was recently identified as the prime suspect in the 1985 homicide of a Banning woman.
Investigators reopened the cold case nearly two years ago and tested evidence for DNA traces. Banning police Sgt. Nic Schoen, the lead investigator, said Pearse's DNA was found in the evidence.
Schoen and senior investigator Paul Edwards of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office tried to interview Pearse in Santa Maria in early May but the man could not be reached at his home in the 4000 block of South Blosser Road.
Schoen believes there is enough evidence to connect Pearse to the 1985 homicide.
Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or
lgomez@santamariatimes.com.
May 25, 2007
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