Woman found in suitcase identified

A woman whose body was found crammed into a suitcase behind a downtown San Diego hotel Wednesday has been identified, although investigators are still trying to determine how she died, police said Thursday.

The woman’s name is being withheld until her family is notified, said San Diego Police Lt. Ray Valentin. She was 21.

An autopsy was being conducted Thursday. Valentin said he did not know how long the woman has been dead or when the suitcase was placed in the trash can.

Valentin said the deceased woman was not related to a woman who expressed fear to a TV reporter that the body might be that of her sister, who had a black suitcase and was last in contact Wednesday night.

Two men who live at the Chadwick Hotel on A Street at 7th Avenue called police about 11 a.m. Wednesday to report suspicious circumstances. One resident said he had pushed a black trash can from the curb to a parking lot behind the hotel and noticed it felt heavy, Valentin said.

The second man reported that he found the midsize black suitcase on the ground near several trash cans in the lot. He could see black hair sticking out through the suitcase zipper but did not look any closer, Valentin said.

Although some media outlets reported the woman was dismembered, the body was intact, said Manuel Del Toro, acting lieutenant for the San Diego Police Department’s homicide unit.

Police believe someone intended that the “large travel suitcase” be taken out with the trash, Del Toro said.

“At some point, we believe, it was in the trash can. When it was reported to us it was out of the trash can,” Del Toro said. “Somebody had to go in and take it out.”

Del Toro said there are many transients in the area and many look through trash bins and Dumpsters.