Woman Apparently Murdered in Newport Beach

A young woman was found dead early Tuesday morning inside a Newport Beach business complex after friends called police and said they were concerned about her welfare.

“At this point, the case has not been confirmed to be a homicide, but we are investigating as if it is a homicide,” Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella told City News Service.

Police received a call at 12:11 a.m., requesting a welfare check, and were directed to a business complex in the 5000 block of Campus Drive, she said.

“We had a couple friends who were concerned about their friend. The original caller was female, she was off away somewhere, but had a male friend looking for this missing gal,” Manzella said.

“She had stopped responding to phone calls and text messages, so they were concerned for her welfare. They had some idea of where she should be, so helped officers narrow down the area.”

Police declined to say whether there was any sign of trauma to the body and were withholding the name of the woman, said to be 20 to 25 years old, pending positive identification and notification of her family.

“We have one clue -- we do have a witness in the area who saw a white van near the building,” Manzella said. “It was a time of night where there’s not that many people in the area, so we’re hopeful that they might have some information that can help us.”

Detectives were interviewing people who work in the building, canvassing the area and checking for surveillance cameras, she said.

“As to what is her connection to this building, we’re still working to establish that, as well,” Manzella said.

--City News Service