The son of a 71-year-old Rancho Santa Fe man who was found dead in his home was arrested in Riverside County Wednesday on suspicion of beating and choking his father to death.
Members of a fugitive task force took 39-year-old Leighton Dorey IV into custody without incident in a wooded area near Idyllwild early Wednesday morning.
The wife of Leighton Dorey III found his body in a back room at their house in the 17200 block of La Brisa upon returning from an outing shortly before 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
An autopsy determined that the victim died of blunt-force trauma to the head, neck and upper body, as well as strangulation, sheriff’s homicide Lt. Kenneth Nelson said. The death was ruled a homicide.
Investigators are unsure where the suspect lives, though he apparently recently returned to the United States after living in France for years, Nelson said.
— City News Service contributed to this report.
