3 Bodies Found in Vehicle, Prompting Homicide Investigation

A parking control officer responded to the 1300 block of South Varney Street about 7:10 a.m. for a parking complaint and noticed at least one person who appeared dead inside a vehicle described as a burgundy Jeep Patriot, police said.

Paramedics responded to the scene and determined there were two more people dead inside the vehicle. One person was described only as a man, but police have not released any additional information about the other people found in the vehicle.

Investigators and officials with the L.A. County Coroner's Office responded to the scene.

It is unclear how the people died or how long they had been in the vehicle, but police are treating the incident as a homicide investigation.

Sgt. Derek Green called the deaths "highly suspicious."

The Jeep, which had been left unattended for days, is registered to someone in Tennessee, police said.

Detectives were working on interviewing any possible witnesses and were hoping to find surveillance video that might help them in the investigation.

Authorities are also looking into whether the case could be related to three men who were traveling from Bakersfield to Riverside and haven't been seen in days.

Forensics examiners were at the scene late Tuesday afternoon, waiting for coroner's officials to arrive, police said. The Jeep was towed from the scene shortly before 6 p.m.

Varney Street is next to the 5 Freeway in an industrial area near a large Home Depot and a massive Ikea. The area was expected to be closed for several more hours Tuesday.

KTLA's Jennifer Thang contributed to this story.