The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau is continuing its investigation into the body of a woman found in Malibu Lagoon on Dec. 20.
As of the time The Malibu Times went to print, detectives and county officials had not publicly identified the body, nor did officials confirm the woman’s identity. In the days since the discovery of the remains, a few publications as well as social media users identified the woman as 31-year-old Swedish-Kenyan model Beldina Nyadwe.
According to California State Parks Superintendent Craig Sap, a private citizen found the body in Malibu Lagoon and reported it to law enforcement officials. LA County Lifeguards were the first responders at the scene, Sap said.
California State Parks has not been working on the case.
“The LA County Sheriff’s Department has control over the entire investigation in conjunction with, I’m sure, the LA County Coroner’s office,” Sap said.
At the time The Malibu Times went to print, the woman’s cause of death remained undetermined and was pending examination by the LA County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, according to a statement by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Navarro-Suarez.