(Watsonville Police Officer David Gonzalez brings down crime scene tape on a trail along Harkins Slough behind the UPS Store Friday where a passerby discovered the body of a woman. Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
WATSONVILLE — A woman who was found dead in a stand of bushes along Harkins Slough Friday morning suffered multiple stings by either bees or yellowjackets before her death, Watsonville Police Sgt. Brian Ridgway said.
Ridgway did not say that the stings caused the woman’s death.
Police were stymied in their investigation by the insects, one of them receiving at least one sting.
Watsonville Police and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff Coroner on Friday cordoned off the area where the woman was found as they conducted their investigation.
Police have not yet released the woman’s name.
A man who asked not to be identified said he found her at about 8 a.m. He said the woman was homeless and frequently slept in the same area. She was about 50 years old, the man said.
