Opinion ID: 1239150
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Discovery of the body of Tracey Campbell

Text: On August 11, Nick Klos directed the police to the bowl area in the desert near Lancaster, and approximately 75 law enforcement officers, assisted by Klos, conducted a search of the area. There they discovered a severely decomposed and partly skeletonized body, identified on August 16 through her dental records as that of Tracey Campbell. Bloodstains near some boulders marked the original location of the body, which had been moved approximately 15 feet, probably by the activity of coyotes. Both hands, as well as bones from all of the limbs, were missing. Other bones, including leg bones, had been separated from the body by animals and were located some distance from the body. There was no significant amount of skin remaining on the body from the waist down, and the skin that did remain was completely mummified. The genital organs were completely decomposed and the sex of the body no longer was ascertainable. The body was nude, but a blouse with a snail print on it was wrapped around the face. On August 12, Dr. Wegner, the Los Angeles County medical examiner, performed an autopsy, determining that the cause of death was ligature strangulation. There were deep ligature imprints along the midline of the upper back, splitting into two imprint lines extending around the neck, consistent with the use of a rope to cause death. A similar V-shaped imprint on the chest indicated that the victim had been tied up, probably prior to death. Dr. Wegner was unable to establish the exact date of death, but testified that the condition of the body was consistent with death having occurred on July 12.