Authorities believe unidentified woman died of natural
causes
While Morgan Hill Police were wrapping up a kidnapping incident Thursday morning, dispatchers received a call from Morgan Hill Public Works reporting a dead body at Community Park.
The female, possibly between 45 and 50 years old, was found in a blue Plymouth Sundance parked in the parking lot near the tennis courts. The windows of the vehicle were closed, and there was no evidence of foul play, according to MHPD Sgt. Dave Leonard.
According to the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office, the identity of the victim was not confirmed by press time Friday afternoon and could not be released. The cause of death was also unavailable.
“We cannot release the name of the victim at this time because we have not been able to contact the next of kin,” MHPD Cmdr. Terrie Booten said Thursday. “The vehicle is registered to the victim.”
Leonard speculated from the appearance of the victim and the scene that she may have died from natural causes, not suicide or homicide.
Public Works employees Ernie Wilson and Limo Huizar arrived in the park for their usual maintenance duties, briefly noticing the vehicle surrounded by other cars likely belonging to the tennis players on the courts. Wilson said there are normally people playing tennis in the mornings, so he didn’t pay attention to the vehicle.
“If I noticed her (the victim) at all, I probably thought she was resting,” he said. “People do come to the park to rest at times. But when I came by later, some time between about 8:30am and 9am, I noticed the same car was still there.”
Thinking she was asleep, Wilson said, he tried blowing the horn of his Public Works truck to wake her up. When she didn’t respond, he said, he walked up to her car and gently tapped on the window.
“She was so still,” he said. “I knocked a little harder, then I really banged on the window, but she didn’t move.”
The victim’s head was leaning against the driver’s side door, with her neck twisted back at an uncomfortable-looking angle. She was sitting in the driver’s seat, covered by a blanket, with no sign of bruising or abrasions.
“She had a discoloration on her lip, but she didn’t look like she’d been hurt by someone,” Wilson said.
An ambulance and Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to Wilson’s call about the body. Emergency medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene.
Public Works Senior Worker Juan Pacheco said people often come to Community Park and stay for a little while.
“We see them here sometimes, just coming to rest and relax, but they don’t stay for long,” Pacheco said.
It appeared the victim may have been living in her car. It was full of clothing, bags of things and other items that were lined up on the dashboard.
“Usually they don’t stay long, the homeless, before they move on,” Huizar added.
