Homicide victim identified

1/4/2010

The victim of the first homicide of 2010 has been identified by the Lucas County coroner's office.

The victim was identified Monday as Eric Baldwin, 51. His body was found in a burning sport-utility vehicle in the 1100 block of Pelee Street south of Dorr Street about 4:15 a.m. on Jan. 1.

The death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death remains under investigation, said Dr. Maneesha Pandey, a Lucas County deputy coroner. Dr. Pandey declined to say how Mr. Baldwin was identified.

The autopsy was performed by Lucas County Deputy Coroner Cynthia Beisser, who was unavailable for comment.

Mr. Baldwin, whose address and hometown were not released, was found deceased in a Jeep Grand Cherokee engulfed in flames outside Nova Industrial Machine Co., 1101 Pelee St. The vehicle had not been in an accident, police said.

Toledo police investigated 33 homicides last year. They investigated 20 in 2008 and 13 in 2007.