Police are investigating a pair of suspicious deaths discovered Sunday and Monday in two Salt Lake neighborhoods.
In Rose Park on Monday morning, a passer-by spotted the body of a man slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle parked at 600 N. New Star Drive (1785 West). On Sunday, a man was found dead in the closet of a Capitol Hill home, Salt Lake City Police Lt. Cory Lyman said.The man found Monday appeared to have suffered a wound to his head, but police would not say if it was the result of a shooting. The man, who appeared to be in his 20s, was not carrying identification, Lyman said. The state medical examiner will conduct an autopsy and try to identify the body.
Lyman said the death is being investigated as a homicide, as is the Capitol Hill death.
The Capitol Hill victim, a 19-year-old male whose name was not released pending notification of relatives, appears to have died from a gunshot wound to the head, Police Lt. Terry Morgan said Sunday. The victim was found in the closet of the home, 211 E. Sandrun Drive (900 North), by the homeowner. The dead man knew the homeowner and did have permission to be in the home.
A handgun was also recovered from the closet, and the homeowner was detained for questioning but was not arrested, Morgan said. The case was initially investigated by police as a suicide. However, undisclosed factors have raised the level of inquiry.
"There are some things that are very suspicious, but we won't even know what the cause of death was until we get the results of the autopsy back," she said.