Body found behind Hanover Park shops

Hanover Park police are investigating the death of a man found Thursday morning behind a strip mall.

Authorities have not identified the man who was found near the El Camino strip mall on the 2100 block of West Lake Street.

Nor did they say Thursday how the man died, who reported the finding or whether foul play is suspected.

Nearby resident Kyle Brauch said the deceased was a homeless man who'd been sleeping next to some bushes under cardboard and blankets in the back alley of the strip mall for several months.

Brauch lives in a second-floor apartment facing the back of El Camino. He said one of his roommates could see the body through a fence separating the apartment and the strip mall's alley. His roommate said the man's head was bloody.

Police knocked on doors throughout the apartment building Thursday afternoon, asking residents what they saw, Brauch said.

"(An officer) told us the man either got really drunk and tripped and fell, or that he was stabbed," Brauch said.

Brauch and his roommates would see the man, who they say was Spanish-speaking, at least a couple times a week.

"He would stare at us and try to talk to us," Brauch said. "He never really caused problems, but he was very creepy. I'd walk girls to their cars because they didn't feel safe."

Police would not confirm any of Brauch's account.

Brauch said authorities drove the body away from the scene shortly after 4 p.m., and about five officers remained on the scene.

Police said further details will be released after the man has been identified and his next of kin notified.

• Daily Herald Staff Writer Eric Peterson contributed to this report.