Guests of motel where body found sought

Metro Police homicide investigators today were searching for as many as nine people listed in the Del Mar Resort Motel's guest book as having rented the room in recent days where a woman's decomposing body was found inside an air conditioning duct.

Authorities have yet to determine the woman's identity. The coroner's office declined to release the cause of death determined during an autopsy performed Thursday.

Investigators believe the woman was killed a few days before motel employees discovered the bulky garbage bag containing her body about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday while searching for the source of an unexplained odor.

Officers responded to the motel at 1411 Las Vegas Blvd. South, opened the bag and saw what appeared to be a woman's leg.

The bag had been placed in the large air intake vent near the floor by someone who took the time to remove the air filter and screen and then carefully replace them, said homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen.

Motel records indicate that as many as eight people had rented the room on Saturday and Sunday. The last guest to use the room checked in Monday and checked out Tuesday morning, Petersen said.

"Our real problem is the names in the guest register," Petersen said. "Because (the motel) does most of its business on a cash basis, it's hard to tell if any of the names are true."

A manager at the Del Mar this morning said employees found no luggage in the room.

"This is not like any other homicide we've had in the past," Petersen said. "There are some real unusual aspects to the case that make it unique."

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