Thomas Scott Taylor, 60
Thomas Scott Taylor, a 60-year-old white man, was found dead Tuesday, January 28, in the 500 block of West 17th Street in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
About 12:15 a.m., Long Beach police officers smelled smoke and found a motor home on fire. Once the flames were extinguished, a man’s body, later identified as Taylor's, was found in the vehicle, according to a news release from the Long Beach Police Department.
Paramedics responded and pronounced Thomas dead at 12:24 a.m., said Ed Winter, a coroner’s spokesman.
An autopsy showed that Thomas died of blunt force trauma, Winter said.
Taylor lived in the RV, and had told five people who hung out there not to come back, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
The five people — later identified as Diana Sequen, 20; Jose Alfredo Zolorza, 19; David Romero, 28; Jazmin Montanez, 34; and Anthony Joshua Paz, 21 — allegedly came back to the RV and beat Taylor to death.
The five then set Taylor’s RV on fire with his body inside, according to prosecutors.
Sequen, Zolorza, Romero, Montanez, and Paz pleaded not guilty to one count of murder April 3. The defendants are due back in court June 5.
Anyone with information is asked to call Long Beach Police Dets. Teryl Hubert and Mark Bigel Guarino at (562) 570-7244. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
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