Tulare County Sheriff's Detectives are calling the death of 43-year-old Andrew Dugquem suspicious. His body was discovered just before noon in front of his Orosi home on Road 136 near El Monte Way.
The Tulare County Sheriff's Office brought in homicide detectives to investigate this case. And while they haven't determined how Dugquem died, officials say he did show signs of trauma.
After spending more than six hours in front of 42-year-old Andrew Dugquem's Orosi home, detectives from the Tulare County Sheriff's Office wrapped up the initial part of their investigation Monday night.
Just before noon, a woman delivering a package to the home, called deputies when she noticed Dugquem's still body in the driveway.
Sergeant Rodney Parker said, "And from there, the deputies responded and checked the body for signs of life and there was none."
Family members who live right next door say Dugquem lived here with his elderly mother. And that they had no idea anything was wrong, until investigators arrived.
Janice Andres said, "All of us are very surprised, very very surprised. It was just all so sudden."
Janice Andres says her uncle was recently hospitalized after crashing his car three weeks ago. She says he battled alcoholism, and held a job at Harris Ranch until recently. But, as far as relatives are concerned, Dugquem did not have any known enemies. "I don't know what to think. I don't know if it was due to his drinking or due to foul play."
Detectives did question neighbors about the incident, asking if they heard or saw anything suspicious the night before. But, at this point, they won't be able to determine exactly what happened to Dugquem until doctors perform an autopsy.
Sergeant Rodney Parker said, "We wanna make sure that basically we do a thorough investigation and if it's deemed that it's natural then we've done what we need to do as far as ruling out foul play or anything suspicious."
Shannon Handy asked, "But, you haven't ruled out anything yet?"
Sergeant Parker replied, "That's correct."
Dugquem leaves behind a wife, but family members say he does not have any children. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
