Editor’s note: The victim was later identified by family as a transgender woman named Day Rodas. Read the latest information here.
Authorities are looking for information after a man was found dead along the side of Mulholland Highway in the unincorporated Santa Monica Mountains Thursday morning.
The body was discovered around 7:40 a.m. between the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Decker Road, and Mulholland and Westlake Boulevard, near El Matador Beach in Malibu, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
A motorist found the man on the side of the road and pulled over to try to help, Lt. Patricia Thomas told KTLA. However, he was already dead.
Preliminary information from the CHP indicates the victim overdosed and his body was brought to the location. The case is being investigated as a homicide.
Mulholland Highway was closed in both directions for several hours Thursday due to the investigation.
Authorities are trying to determine how the man got to the remote area. There are no obvious signs of trauma to his body, Thomas said.
Authorities initially said the body was that of a woman, but did not elaborate on the discrepancy.