Drowned Woman Had Died 2 Hours Before Body Found
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EL TORO — A 36-year-old woman found at the bottom of a back-yard swimming pool Thursday had been dead for about two hours before a neighbor discovered her body, officials said Friday.
A 2-year-old boy, who was secure in a floating ring, was in the pool at the time Martha Munoz-Lemus drowned, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Richard Olson said.
The boy’s cries drew the attention of a neighbor, who looked over the fence and saw Munoz-Lemus on the bottom of the pool behind the two-story residence in the 25000 block of Owens Lake Circle in El Toro. The neighbor called 911.
An autopsy revealed that Munoz-Lemus of Mexico died about 4 p.m. Thursday, more than two hours before paramedics were called. She was found wearing a shirt and shorts, not swimming attire, a coroner’s deputy said.
Sheriff’s investigators consider the case closed. “As far as we’re concerned, it’s a nonsuspicious death,” Olson said.
Mark Burnett, the owner of the house, said Munoz-Lemus was a friend of the family who occasionally cared for his 2-year-old son.
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