Man found in back of abandoned U-Haul had been shot in head: Los Angeles police

A man found dead in the back of an abandoned U-Haul truck in Los Angeles’ Mid-City neighborhood had been shot in the head, police announced Friday.

Officers were alerted to the parked U-Haul Thursday morning after a resident reported the truck was impeding traffic after being left near Apple Street and Redondo Boulevard, just north of the 10 Freeway.

A U-Haul employee was sent to the location to recover the vehicle but called police when he opened the rear cargo space and observed a tarp wrapped around what appeared to be a human body, the Los Angeles Police Department stated in a news release Friday.

“There was also a smell of decomposition,” police said.

Arriving officers confirmed that it was a man’s body, later identified by the L.A. County coroner’s office as 50-year-old Henry Jernigan, wrapped in a tarp in the back of the vehicle.

“Homicide detectives responded to the scene and confirmed that the victim had died from an apparent gunshot wound to the head,” the Police Department stated.

Detectives on Thursday said the vehicle had been stolen about a week before it was abandoned in an area residents say has been plagued by illegal activity and dumping.

The person who rented the truck, which had an Arizona license plate, is not considered a suspect in the case, according to police.

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No details regarding any possible suspects in the case have been revealed.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to contact West Bureau Homicide detectives at 213-382-9470 or at 877-275-5273 on weekends or non-business hours.

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