LAPD Need Answers After The Corpse Of A Man Is Found In The Back Of U-Haul

There was a 'smell of decomposition,' the LAPD said in a statement Friday

U-Haul truck
A U-Haul truck similar to the one pictured was an Los Angeles crime scene after the body of Henry Jernigan was found dead of gun shot to the head. Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Police are currently investigating a disturbing incident in a Mid-City neighborhood where a man's body was found in an abandoned U-Haul Friday.

The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking the public's help identifying the suspect or suspects responsible for a murder after a body was found in the back of a U-Haul truck.

Residents on the 2400 block of Redondo Boulevard initially notified U-Haul on Thursday morning that a truck had been left there and was impeding traffic. The company sent an employee to move the truck, but when he opened the rear cargo space there was a "smell of decomposition," the LAPD said in a statement Friday.

The employee discovered a tarp wrapped around what appeared to be a human body and called police. The LAPD said officers responded to the scene shortly before 11 a.m. and confirmed the presence of a dead body, and determined it to be the result of homicide.

The victim, identified as 50-year-old Henry Jernigan, died from an apparent gunshot wound to the head, police said. The U-Haul was stolen about a week before it was discovered, and the individual who last rented it is not considered a suspect, according to reports.

The LAPD's West Bureau Homicide detectives are investigating, and have asked for tips from the public. Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to come forward or submit an anonymous tip.

--with reporting by TMX

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