Police were on scene in north Richmond Thursday after a body was found inside a vacant home awaiting demolition.
Officers responded just after 8:30 a.m. to a house in the 9000 block of Odlin Road near Garden City Road after a friend of the victim found him dead.
“His death is considered by police as suspicious,” Cpl. Dennis Hwang said in a news release.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team then took hold of the investigation.
Cpl. Frank Jang, media relations officer for IHIT, said they are still working to identify the victim. At this point, Jang said IHIT is not calling this a murder but reiterated that the death seems suspicious.
"After a preliminary survey by officers ... they determined that something wasn't right," Jang said.
A neighbour, who didn’t want his name used, told the News he used to live in the home where the body was found. But he and his housemates were evicted when a development company bought that house and others on the block and said it was ready to demolish them for redevelopment.
The neighbour found another rental only a few doors down, but said the houses have been sitting empty for nearly a year and he has seen squatters and looters looking for copper wire there before.
“There needs to be regulation regarding houses and how long they’re allowed to sit [empty] during rezoning and whether or not it’s mandated that they have security on site,” he said.
He’s calling on the city to address the problem, saying it’s a safety issue.
