William Tempesta was found shot to death in the rural, westmost area of West Palm Beach, Florida, but cops think someone killed him somewhere else. (Image: West Palm Beach Police Department)
Cops are investigating after they found a man mysteriously shot dead and dumped in a rural area.
His name was William Tempesta, 56. He lived in Volusia County, Florida, but officers almost 200 miles south in the Palm Beach County city of West Palm Beach said they found him in their area.
The investigation started Sunday morning along 45th Street and Jog Road.
A driver, who passed by and did not stop, saw who he believed to be someone sleeping or lying in the grass, West Palm Beach police Public Information Officer Mike Jachles said. The driver contacted 911 and deputies were called to the scene. The driver had no further involvement in the case, Jachles said.
Officers responded to the 5900 block of North Jog Road, between the entrance to the Ironhorse subdivision and Florida’s Turnpike, to find the victim dead from an apparent gunshot wound.
“He was 5’10” tall, weighed 190 pounds and was wearing jeans and a black and grey t-shirt and did not have any identification,” authorities wrote.
The police department said they used his fingerprints to identify him as Tempesta. Officers informed his family of the death at around 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The question now is how he wound up in West Palm Beach. Police think his killer or killers took his life elsewhere, and then abandoned his remains there in the rural, westernmost area of West Palm Beach.
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“It is also believed that the victim had not been dead for long,” officers wrote.
Jachles told Law&Crime that law enforcement is investigating Tempesta’s last known whereabouts and actions.
They are working to determine the timeline of events as well as the victim’s travels and acquaintances, he said.
The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office will officially rule on his cause of death and when he died. In light of that, Jachles released no further information on the nature of Tempesta’s further injuries.
From cops:
Anyone who knew or saw the victim, or noticed unusual activity or a vehicle stopped in the area of the discovery overnight Saturday or early morning Sunday should call Detective Regina Wood at 561-822-1698.
Tips can also be reported anonymously to Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS (8477), or online at www.crimestopperspbc.com. Tips to Crime Stoppers that lead to an arrest can result in a cash reward up to $3,000.00.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
