Crime & Safety
Palm Springs Man Murdered in Banning
Coroner's officials Tuesday identified the victim in a recent murder.
A man who was found dead in Banning last week has been identified as a 59-year-old Palm Springs resident, coroner's officials said Tuesday.
Joseph Woodson was found in the road on Sunset Avenue, at Westward Avenue-- near Mount San Jacinto College's local campus-- on Thursday, June 13, according to coroner's and police reports.
Banning Police Sergeant Alex Diaz tells Patch Woodson was not a student at the school, and his death is being investigated as a murder. It's not yet clear what the man had been doing in the area prior to his death, he said.
Details as to the cause of death were not immediately released, as the coroner listed it only as "suspicious." However, the agency indicated the man's fatal injuries were inflicted in the same location as his death.
Police were called to the 900 block of South Sunset Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Thursday to investigate a 911 caller's report of a man lying motionless in the road, police said.
Investigators determined the man was dead and police closed off the street and worked through the night and into the day; a Patch reader reported not being able to get to her home until Friday evening.
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