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# Identity of dead body found in alley unclear
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/identity-of-dead-body-found-in-alley-unclear/
- Published: 2004-03-20T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:02:51.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

*Death of unknown man shines light on transients*

*By Daily Press staff*

WILSHIRE BLVD. — Santa Monica trash collectors discovered the dead body of a man Friday in an alley between Ninth and Tenth streets north of Wilshire Boulevard.

It’s unknown who the homeless man was or how he died. Santa Monica Police Department Lt. Frank Fabrega said the man appeared to be in his mid-50s, but carried no identification. There was no evidence of foul play in his death.

The city trash collectors called police at 7:54 a.m. after spotting the body on their morning route. By 9 a.m., police had roped off the area and were waiting for coroners to remove the body of the man, who wore a gray beanie and a brown jacket. A black suitcase was by his side. The man apparently died in his sleep, as he was partially covered by a green sleeping bag and tucked into a nook behind a large apartment building on the west side of the alley.

Nearby residents said the homeless are a constant presence in the alleys.

“We know these guys,” said Glenn Sorgenstein, owner of the Wilshire Coin Exchange, which sits adjacent to where the body was found. “They’re back there all the time — sometimes they’re nuts, sometimes they’re nice. They’re usually drunk.”

> “They’re back there all the time... They’re usually drunk.” — — GLENN SORGENSTEIN Owner, Wilshire Coin Exchange

Asked how often transients die on the streets of Santa Monica, Fabrega said, “I wouldn’t say it’s common, but it happens.

“When a homeless person dies, they don’t have anywhere to go.”

Residents near the scene Friday morning said the transients should be given work and medical help. One 25-year resident of 11th Street recalls walking by a homeless man in the alley recently just as he was struck by a seizure, adding the homeless man refused an offer to call for help, so the resident sat with him for several minutes.

“He put himself together and walked on down the street,” said the resident, a retired aerospace engineer who asked not to be named. “They sleep any place they can, that’s out of the wind and dry... Some of them have medical problems and no treatment for it.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/032004-01_01.jpg)

Police wait for coroners to remove the dead body of a homeless man, right, discovered Friday morning in an alley north of Wilshire Boulevard. (Photo: John Wood/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 20, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)