Body found in Merced trash bin

The death of a person whose body was found in a bag inside a large trash bin early Monday in Merced is considered “very suspicious,” but police investigators stopped short of calling it a homicide.

The human remains were discovered around 7 a.m. in a trash bin in an alleyway in the 3100 block of G Street in Merced, Detective-Sgt. Curt Gorman told the Sun-Star.

“A transient discovered what they believed was a dead body, and we’re working with the (Merced County) Coroner’s Office to determine what happened,” Gorman said in a telephone interview.

The Merced County pathologist was not available Monday, but an autopsy is scheduled early Tuesday.

“We’ll have a lot more answers at that time,” Gorman said.

Until the autopsy results were available, police said they couldn’t comment on the person’s gender, age or nature of death.

Finding a body in a bag in a trash bin, Gorman said, “is very suspicious,” but he cautioned the public not to jump to conclusions.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Jeff Horn at 209-385-6905.

This story was originally published February 6, 2017 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Body found in Merced trash bin."