ORLANDO, Fla. — A passerby found a man’s body outside a vacant storefront near Sodo Sunday afternoon, the Orlando Police Department said.
The 65-year-old man’s battered body was found shortly before 12:30 p.m. outside vacant retail space in a plaza on South Orange Avenue, north of West Michigan Street, Orlando police Lt. Jonathan Bigelow said.
The death of the man, who wasn't publicly identified, is being investigated as a homicide, Bigelow said.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the man's official cause of death.
Police told Channel 9 the man was severely beaten.
They said the victim was known around the area and he’s been living on the streets for years.
“We don’t know what happened there, only that somebody died there,” said nearby resident Melanie Hill.
She said she left to visit her mother about 1 p.m. Sunday and saw crime scene tape and police cars along the section of South Orange Avenue and Michigan Street.
Police are working to figure out where the homeless man was before his death and are also trying to track down his relatives.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Orlando police or Crimeline at 407-423-8477.