Deputies Trying to Determine Dead Man’s Identity

STANTON — An unidentified man was found stabbed to death in a park, and investigators were working Friday to determine his name and the motive for his slaying.

The man, believed to be 18 to 20 years old, had no wallet when he was found Thursday night, and may be the victim of a robbery, said sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Tom Garner.

“That’s one possibility, but we don’t know what it is at this point,” Garner said. “We hope to have some answers soon.”

Investigators canvassed people in and around Stanton Park--which is near Beach Boulevard and Katella Avenue--and were checking fingerprint records in an effort to identify the slain man, Garner said.

A caller reporting an unconscious man brought deputies to the park, where they found the wounded man, Garner said.

The deputies attempted life-saving techniques, but the man died at the scene, he said.

A youth soccer game was underway several hundred yards from the site of the discovery, and it’s possible the victim was attending the event, Garner said.

Anyone with information about the victim or the stabbing is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at (714) 834-7370.