SANTA MARIA, Calif. - (UPDATE) Santa Maria Police have identified the victim in Tuesday night's homicide. According to Police, the victim in this investigation has been identified as Michel Raygoza Hernandez, 24 years of age. Hernandez was a resident of the City of Santa Maria.
SMPD Detectives are still actively investigating this case. Anyone with information about this crime and/or the victim is encouraged to contact the Santa Maria Police Department at (805)928-3781, ext. 277 or they can call Crime Stoppers at 1-877-800-9100.
(Earlier story)==========
The first homicide of 2013 is still an active investigation for Santa Maria Police.
What police are saying regarding the victim is very limited: that he's a 24-year old Hispanic male. Police are still waiting to notify the family of the victim before releasing his name. Police also say they're following up on several leads since Tuesday and are working non-stop on the investigation. But they are still needing help from the public.
Santa Maria Police Sergeant Dan Cohen says, "people see something that they believe to be innocuous or not really important, but to us at this stage in the investigation anything that somebody might have seen or heard in that area might be a very valuable piece of evidence for us."
Police have spoken with neighbors in the surrounding area as part of their investigation. As far as the leads they've received so far, police won't comment on where they've received the leads from.
The Santa Barbara County Coroner will give the word to police to release the victim's name once the family is notified.
