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Lake Worth resident wakes up, finds body in his yard; investigators have now identified the victim

Posted at 7:49 AM, Oct 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-31 16:42:21-04

UPDATE: The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has identified the victim as 33-year-old Lucio Velazquez-Morales of Lake Worth. Investigators do not have a suspect or motive at this time.

EARLIER:

LAKE WORTH, Fla. -- The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said a Lake Worth resident woke up Monday morning and found a dead man in his yard.

The body was found around 6:50 a.m. at a home located at 10th Avenue South and H Street.

“Just heard the shot. And then I didn’t see anything.  We didn’t see anything because the window was closed, “ said Julio Benedes, when translated from Spanish to English, the man who found the body, said in an exclusive interview with WPTV's Alyssa Hyman. “When I got up and came here, I found the man lying there."

Benedes said he did not recognize the man and added he had been shot twice.  He said

PBSO investigators arrived and later determined the person was shot. 

A neighbor who lives next to the home where the body was found told WPTV that she heard several gunshots, but did not know the victim.  

11-year-old Michelle Hernandez and her family fear their loved one may be the man
found dead.

“We want to find out what happen,” said Hernandez. “We’re trying to find information that’s why we came again.”

It was shocking way to wake up for Daniel Luechung who lives just across the train tracks from where this happened.

“That’s crazy, insane that someone got shot,” said Luechung. “I don’t want to be in a bad neighborhood, especially with all the kids and everything like that around here."

PBSO says neighbors heard gunshots just after 5 a.m., however did not call 911. 

The medical examiner arrived and took the body from the scene to perform an autopsy. 

No suspect information is currently available. The identity of the victim, an Hispanic man, has not been released.

Contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS if you can help in the investigation.

Stay with WPTV.com and NewsChannel 5 for more details.