Family members visiting San Diego relative for Christmas make grisly discovery in freezer

Members of an unidentified family traveling to visit a relative in San Diego for the Christmas holiday made a grisly discovery in the relative's freezer: a body that was already greatly decomposed.

The out-of-town family members had gathered at a relative's house on Zion Avenue in the Allied Gardens neighborhood of San Diego, about 10 miles northeast of downtown, police said. It is unclear who the family members are, where they came from, or when they arrived at the residence, but at 11:45 a.m. last Friday morning, they contacted police to say that they had discovered a body in a chest freezer inside the home.

"The body is believed to be female, but no other physical details such as age or race can be confirmed until an identification is made," said a statement from the San Diego Police Department.

One of the difficulties in identifying the individual has been the fact that the body was so badly decomposed. Police could not even say for certain whether the person had sustained any serious injuries before death.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office has yet to determine a cause of death, but the homicide unit has begun investigating the case because of the circumstances surrounding the discovery. The freezer was not locked or otherwise secured when the body was found, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

With details scant, the incident has left neighbors feeling shocked and unsettled. "This is a very safe area," said area resident Teresa Morrison. "We have a school across the street. We never heard about any violence or anything."

"It’s very surprising and scary and give me the chills because I’ve never heard something like this," admitted neighbor Ana Marie Mierau.

Anyone with information regarding the death is encouraged to call the police at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

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