Two homeless men beaten in downtown L.A. die

Baseball bat attacks may be linked to a body found under the Santa Monica Pier.

Two of the homeless men who were brutally beaten in downtown Los Angeles this week died of their injuries Thursday, and police are investigating whether those attacks are linked to the death of a homeless man whose pummeled body was discovered under the Santa Monica Pier.

Both men had been hospitalized since Sunday morning, when an assailant repeatedly struck them with a baseball bat as they slept in the Financial District.

Los Angeles Police Officer Drake Madison said a third man beaten in Sunday’s attacks remained in the hospital. None of their names have been released.

The case took a turn Thursday, when beach maintenance workers in Santa Monica discovered the body of a man under the pier about 6:40 a.m., according to a Santa Monica Police Department statement.

Lt. Saul Rodriguez, the department’s chief spokesman, said the man’s injuries were “consistent with being hit violently with some sort of blunt-type object.” Police had not determined what type of weapon was used or when the attack occurred.

The identity of the man, who appeared to be in his 30s, was being withheld pending notification of his family, Rodriguez said.

Investigators believe the man was sleeping at the time of the attack. Rodriguez said detectives have been in touch with the Los Angeles Police Department to explore links between the Santa Monica and downtown killings.

The downtown attacks occurred between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday along Flower Street as the men were sleeping, police said. Detectives suspect the assailant — who is also believed to be homeless — was motivated by robbery because he rummaged through the victims’ pockets after clubbing them.

Authorities described the suspect as a white or Latino man in his 30s or 40s, of medium height and medium build, with black hair. He was wearing a blue hat, gray sweatshirt, black shorts and bright white tennis shoes, police said.

Capt. Billy Hayes also said the man walked with a “distinctive gait,” possibly because he is bowlegged.

Rodriguez said it was not clear whether the man found dead under the pier was robbed.

There were no witnesses to any of the attacks.

Santa Monica police detectives were searching for surveillance footage.