Rodolfo Avina was 34 when his body was found in the back seat of his black Cadillac SRX parked at Cogswell Road and Ferris Road in El Monte, California. A gardener discovered him unresponsive on December 4, 2015; paramedics pronounced him dead at 2:15 p.m. The coroner’s records list a gunshot wound to his upper body. Avina had been reported missing by his girlfriend on November 24, 2015.

Investigators noted a parking ticket had been issued to the Cadillac on the morning of December 3, but it’s unclear whether the issuing officer saw anyone in the back seat. A neighbor said they saw the car on December 2 and noticed a foul odor in the area, though it was uncertain whether the smell came from the vehicle. The car showed no obvious signs of forced entry or gunfire damage and was being processed for evidence.

Avina’s death was one of four bodies discovered in vehicles near the 605 Freeway over about two weeks, but authorities reported no direct links between the cases. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau was handling the investigation and asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously. If anyone knew Rodolfo Avina or has information about that Cadillac, what can be shared with investigators?