Police ID body found in Md. park

Update, 8 a.m. --

Maryland State Police have identified the body found in an Anne Arundel park by a fisherman Sunday as that of a Baltimore man reported missing five weeks ago.

Police say 31-year-old Matthew Martin was reported missing by his mother April 9. His body was identified through fingerprint analysis.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore has ruled the manner of Martin's death a homicide, but police are not identifying the cause of death.

Police say they have not determined a motive for Martin's slaying.

-- Associated Press

Previous post:
A man’s partially decomposed body was found Saturday in a Maryland state park in Anne Arundel county, and state police said they are investigating the death as a homicide.

The body was discovered in Patapsco State Park by someone who was looking for a place to fish and spotted an elbow protruding from the dirt, police said.

After authorities were called, the body was unearthed from a shallow grave in woods near the 1200 block of River Road in the Linthicum Heights area, police said.

The body showed signs of trauma, but details were not available. No identification was found.

It was unclear how long the body had been there, police said. They said the body was taken to the office of the chief medical examiner in Baltimore for autopsy.

-- Martin Weil