Man found along I-8 had been strangled

A man whose body was found along Interstate 8 in Mission Valley on Aug. 19 died of strangulation, a county official said Friday.

A county spokeswoman said the man was identified by the Medical Examiner’s Office as 42-year-old Leroy Abbey.

The cause of his death was listed as ligature strangulation, but the agency had not determined whether the case is a homicide.

San Diego police homicide investigators said last week that the man’s death was suspicious, and that he also appeared to have suffered a blow to the back of his head.

Motorists heading west on I-8 reported a man walking along the shoulder, carrying a bag, before 6:30 a.m. His body was then seeing lying on the side of the freeway near Interstate 805. At least one witness reported that a black man in a blue shirt and shorts had stopped a white BMW nearby, then drove away.

Investigators were wanting to talk to that man, homicide unit Lt. Ray Valentin said. Valentin could not be reached for comment Friday on whether that BMW driver had been found.

Valentin said the dead man’s injuries were not consistent with a traffic accident, such as a hit-and-run collision. He said the man appeared to have been a transient, and that a bag was found near his body.