Santa Cruz Homicide Victim Identified as Unsheltered 37-Year-Old Man

SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) -- Police identified the victim of Santa Cruz's first homicide of the year an unsheltered 37-year-old man Wednesday.

Daniel Worth Hartley, who moved to Santa Cruz in 2019 from Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the scene in the 700 block of Emeline Avenue at about 6 a.m. Sunday.

Police were called to the scene and found Hartley had suffered blunt force trauma to his head.

Detectives have collected surveillance footage from the immediate area and are looking into Hartley's time in the city to develop additional leads and determine a possible motive, police said.

The Santa Cruz Police Department is urging those with information about the case to contact Detective Connor Bridges at (831) 420-5830 or to leave information on an anonymous crime tip line at (831) 420-5995.

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