deathscene

UPDATE:  Inyo Sheriff’s Officers have said that the death of a third man on the reservation, Buzzie Beaver, is not connected to the deaths of the two individuals on Pa Ha Lane.  Officers said Mr. Beaver’s death was a different day and different location

Sunday afternoon before one o’clock, a call came into the Inyo Sheriff’s Office.  Someone had discovered a man and a woman dead in their bed at a home on Pa Ha Lane in Bishop.

Inyo Sheriff Bill Lutze said that the male and female were in their late teens or early twenties.  He said there was no obvious sign of trauma – no gunshot wounds or other signs of violent death.

Sheriff Lutze said, “A young person tried to wake them up and couldn’t.”  The call to the Sheriff’s Office happened around 12:40 pm Sunday.  Officers and Investigators from the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office responded to the scene.  The Sheriff’s ID team also went to work on the case.

The Sheriff said that the investigation will take some time.  Toxicology tests generally take more than a deathscenecarsmonth.  Asked what the relationship was between the deceased man and woman, Sheriff Lutze said that was unknown.

At the scene Sunday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol had closed off Pa Ha Lane.  Crime scene tape surrounded the house where the couple was found.  Officers said it was family members and others who gathered outside on the street.

After I was granted permission to stand on the street opposite the crime scene, men in the crowd started to yell, “Get out of here!  Have some respect.”  A man who identified himself as Raymond Stone* got in my face, tried to intimidate me and then hit my camera with his hand.  I went to look for an officer and several men kept yelling.  I explained this was just my job. Sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers worked to calm the unruly men.

Finally a woman in tears came up to me and said she was the mother of the dead.  She asked if I could leave soon.  I assured her I would and expressed our regret at her loss.

The investigation continues.

* Raymond L. Stone, not to be confused with Raymond P. Stone.

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