BEN LOMOND — The body of a 57-year-old transient man was found in a homeless camp near Ben Lomond on May 3, and sheriff’s deputies said today that the man died of natural causes and no foul play is suspected.
Authorities identified the man as Peter Kouza, who deputies said was well known in the San Lorenzo Valley.
On May 3, deputies received a missing person report from representatives of Valley Churches United in Ben Lomond, said deputy April Skalland, in a statement. Church leaders knew Kouza for 10 years and had not seen him since early April, Skalland said.
On May 3, deputies searched a home on the 9000 block of Old County Road in Ben Lomond that Kouza had rented. They hiked into an illegal homeless camp, and deputies smelled the odor of a dead body. They found a corpse that was deliberately covered with tree branches, deputies said. Other people camped nearby and were questioned about the body, which appeared to have been decomposed for two weeks, authorities said.
“It was in an advanced state of decomposition,” Skalland said.
The Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Kouza on May 5, and determined that he died from cirrhosis of the liver and “chronic alcoholism,” deputies said. There was no evidence of foul play.
Some of the illegal campers later told authorities that they found Kouza deceased about May 1 in front of his tent. They covered him with a blanket and and later moved him about 25 feet away, Skalland said. They covered him with branches to try to prevent animals from touching him, deputies said.
The transients did not report him dead because they feared losing their campsite, Skalland said, and a misdemeanor warrant has been requested for failure to report the death and moving a corpse without notifying the coroner.
