A building fire in a west Phoenix industrial building this morning led fire officials to discover a dead body, and police say the victim was murdered.
About 4:45 a.m., the Phoenix Fire Department responded to a fire alarm that went off in the 1200 block of south 35th Avenue.
When fire personnel responded, they found a bay door with water coming from it and forced their way in.
Once inside the building, as they were extinguishing the blaze, fire officials discovered the corpse and called police.
The body is only identified as a 64-year-old Hispanic male who worked in the building. Police say the victim's car is also missing.
Phoenix police Sergeant Tommy Thompson tells New Times that, at the moment, there are few leads in the case, but the victim was not killed by the fire.
Thompson won't say how the man was murdered because it could disrupt the investigation, but he says the suspect probably murdered the victim and then set the fire to destroy evidence.
The victim's still-missing vehicle is a white, 1995 Chevy Beretta with Arizona (wheelchair) license plate number 4HDH.
Anyone with information about the suspect or suspects, or the whereabouts of the victim's vehicle is encouraged to call the Phoenix Police Department at (602) 262-6141 or
Silent Witness at (480) WITNESS. For Spanish, call (480) TESTIGO.
