U.S. Army veteran death due to fentanyl and meth, examiner rules
Lucrecia Macias Barajas, 46, succumbed to the effects of fentanyl and methamphetamines, according to Dr. Jamie Nakagiri, L.A. County Deputy Medical Examiner.
Barajas was found dead May 12 at a tarp-covered shelter in a Westlake cul-de-sac along with 39-year-old Pojoy Sajqui. It's unclear what the relationship was between both individuals, though Sajqui also died of the same cause.
The shelter was already the scene of death and injury earlier this year when authorities discovered a dead body inside a burned vehicle at the encampment. A second individual, a 38-year-old man, was also taken to the hospital.
Read more: A daughter finds her mother dead in an L.A. homeless encampment. Was it an overdose or homicide?
One of Barajas' three daughters traced her cell phone on May 12, which led her to the encampment.
Video at the time showed that same daughter crying on the ground and later begging Los Angeles Police Department officers to remove her mother's body.
Barajas and Sajqui were found unresponsive inside a tent, and their death was pronounced at 7:30 p.m. that day by a Los Angeles fire paramedic, according to the medical examiner's office.
Read more: 2 found dead inside tent in Westlake months after fatal fire at same encampment
A deputy medical examiner completed the examinations on May 14 and noted there were after-death injuries to Barajas due to animal activity.
In May, the LAPD characterized the death as a suspected drug overdose. Police officials told The Times they were not investigating the matter as a homicide despite calls from family members for further examination.
A family representative was not immediately available.
Staff Writer Ruben Vives contributed to this report.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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