A body found in a burned-out pickup truck near Coachella was identified Wednesday as a missing Palm Desert man, and investigators believe his death was a homicide, a sheriff's detective said.
Hector Leija's charred remains were found in a 2005 Toyota Tundra on Aug. 18 in the 54000 block of Coachella Canal Road, said sheriff's Det. Dean Spivacke.
The truck was registered to the 50-year-old man. Coroner's investigators used DNA testing to confirm his identify, Spivacke said.
Investigators believe the truck went up in flames Aug. 16 on the isolated dirt road.
Leija's wife reported him missing Aug. 16 when he did not return home, according to the detective.
"He had a habit of leaving the house for a couple of days at a time,'' Spivacke said previously. "He wasn't in a habit of telling his wife were he was going.''
Anyone with more information about Leija's death was asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff's Department at (760) 836-1600.
