El Cajon

In a case described as “unusual,” El Cajon homicide detectives are seeking to identify dismembered human remains found Tuesday in a dumpster, according to Lt. Randy Narramore.

Investigators believe the body was that of a white man, 20 to 40 years old, brown-haired, and between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-6, according to Deputy Coroner Gerry Hillbrand.

The victim has marks on both arms that appear to have been caused by hypodermic needle use, Narramore said.

“Our main objective right now is figuring out who the victim is,” he said.

Police were called after construction workers, investigating a strange odor about 9:50 a.m., found the torso--without head, hands or legs--in a construction site dumpster in the 700 block of North Johnson Avenue.

Narramore said it was “a very difficult and challenging case to investigate,” and that “it definitely appears we’re conducting a murder investigation.”