Shane Su­perville 

San­ta Cruz po­lice have found the de­com­pos­ing bod­ies of two el­der­ly men in sep­a­rate in­ci­dents on Tues­day.

In the first case, of­fi­cers re­spond­ed to re­ports of a foul stench at a house on Seau Deau Road, La Canoa, around 9:15 a.m. Up­on ar­rival, they dis­cov­ered the body of 82-year-old Leroy James ly­ing on a bed. There were no vis­i­ble signs of vi­o­lence. Neigh­bours re­port­ed last see­ing James alive on Fri­day.

Lat­er, around 12:30 p.m., po­lice were again called to Vicky Trace, La Canoa, where a sim­i­lar stench was re­port­ed. In­side, they found the body of 68-year-old Amim Pierre, al­so on a bed. Pierre, who lived alone, was last seen alive on Sun­day when a friend bought him cig­a­rettes.

In­ves­ti­ga­tions in­to both deaths are on­go­ing.