Decomposing body found in entrance column of California supermarket

Police in California are investigating how a decomposing body ended up in a column at the entrance of a supermarket in Los Angeles County after it was found on Saturday.

Homicide detectives responded to the scene in Lancaster, Calif., on Saturday after being called to the WinCo Foods store, sheriff’s officials told ABC affiliate KABC.

According to police, the discovery came after the manager of the store smelled a strong odour from the column.

Believing it to be a sewage leak, a plumber was called and they worked with the store’s handyman to remove some bricks from the column. Upon removal, a leg and a shoe were found inside.

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Authorities say the body was in a state of decomposition, NBC 4 reports, and the person’s gender is unknown at this time.

“I saw some gooey liquid and it smelled really foul … It was oozing out of the pillar onto the pavement,” one witness told NBC. “It smelled like death.”

While the identity is unknown, Lt. John Corina said it may be a suspect who ran from police after a chase involving deputies ended in a crash last Monday. The suspect is reported to have run into the store and onto the roof, but police could not locate him. It was believed he managed to escape and detectives say he hasn’t been heard from since.

Henry Oliver said he saw the suspect run into the building.

“He got out of the car, ran in, ran up the steps … and somehow got on the roof, and last I heard he got away,” witness Henry Oliver told KABC.

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As for how he got into the column, Corina said there is access on the roof which leads down into the structure.

“So he may have gotten inside there, and somehow gotten down the column trying to hide from the deputies, and then couldn’t get out. So it definitely is a strange new one on me, and we’ll see if that’s the case,” he told NBC.

Once the body is removed from the column, the coroner will determine exactly how the victim died.

At this time, it’s unclear if he fell into the column or became trapped and couldn’t get out.

Corina said some experienced investigators are in shock from the incident.

“It’s been over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) up here every day. I can’t imagine being inside that column and just baking,” Corina said. “It’s a strange development, and if he died that way, it’s a horrible way to die.”

The store has been closed as police continue to investigate and crews work to extricate the body.