Issue on Donaldson
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:49 pm
What can you tell us about the death of the man on Donaldson? Was it an accident or was there more to it?
This investigation is still ongoing and has not been closed. Until it is closed by Investigations and the findings made public, all I can offer you is the press release as noted in our local paper. Sorry, but some information must be withheld with on going investigations.
Police treat AmCan's man's death as suspicious
By MARSHA DORGAN, NVP Services
Tuesday, January 3, 2006 1:02 AM PST
Sheriff's detectives are investigating the death of an American Canyon man, whose body was found in the backyard of a residence in the 1000 block of Donaldson Way on Thursday morning.
"At this point because of the victim's age and factors found around the scene, we are treating the case as a suspicious death," sheriff's Lt. Jean Donaldson said Thursday afternoon. However, Donaldson declined to elaborate on what was found at the scene.
He said there had been calls to police of suspicious activity at that house in the past couple of days.
One was the report of a nude male outside the house. And another call came in later that night of someone yelling at the same residence, Donaldson said.
"American Canyon police searched the area both times and found no one," he said.
The victim has not been positively identified, Donaldson said, adding he appears to be in his mid 20s.
Donaldson said no weapons were found in the Donaldson Way backyard. The victim did not have any visible signs of exterior trauma, he added.
An autopsy performed Friday determined that the man had apparently died from head trama incurred from a fall off a five foot retaining wall.
The victim lived in a shed in the backyard of the house.
"He recently moved there. He had permission to stay in the shed," Donaldson said. "So far, we have very little history on the victim. We know he was last seen within the last day."
One of the occupants of the home found the victim and called police.
A neighbor who lives about a block from the house told the Register she did not know the occupants, but said there were several people living in the home and people were coming and going all day and night.
The two-story modest home was cordoned off for several blocks on Donaldson Way. The area was off limits to everyone except those who live in area.
The Napa County Major Task Force was called in to collect evidence from the scene. They were there most of Thursday.
As of Monday the man had been identified by the corner according to Sargent Nichols of the AmCan Police Department. No one from the coroner was available for comment due to the holiday.