Four bodies found in Cincinnati apartment

The men had not been seen at work since Dec. 4.

SHARONVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Four men believed to have been dead at least a week were found Thursday in a suburban Cincinnati apartment, and police said they were investigating the deaths as homicides.

The men, described as Hispanic and in their mid-20s, worked for a construction company and hadn’t been to work since Dec. 4, Sharonville police Lt. John Cook said.

“These guys were pretty loyal workers and it was unusual that they would not be there at work,” Cook said.

Officers received a call from a maintenance worker at the Timber Ridge Apartments, who said an employer told him one of the men had not been at work for some time, police spokeswoman Amy Williams said.

An officer accompanied the maintenance worker into the apartment, where the bodies were found Thursday morning.

The bodies had begun to decompose and neighbors had noticed an odor but thought it was a dead animal, police said.

The identities of the victims and how they died were not immediately released.

Calls to the Hamilton County coroner’s office were referred to Sharonville police. A woman who answered the phone at Timber Ridge Apartments said she had no information on the matter.

Two victims were found in a bedroom, another in a second bedroom, and one in a hallway, police said.

Jim Minor, who lives across the hall, said he saw police remove the bodies.

“They had the door open and I saw the blood inside,” he said.

Minor said he’s lived at Timber Ridge about two years and that the men lived there about the same amount of time.

“They’re quiet and kept to themselves,” he said.

He and other neighbors said the complex was usually quiet with few problems.