Riverside County sheriff’s investigators Thursday asked for the public’s help identifying a suspect or suspects in the beating death of a Menifee bicycle rider.
Paul Lee Smith, 53, suffered ultimately fatal injuries in an attack on the morning of Dec. 7 near the intersection of Briggs and Old Newport roads.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Walter Mendez, just prior to the assault, Smith had been riding through the area on a bicycle with a trailer in tow, possibly to collect recyclables.
Passers-by came upon him lying on the ground, unconscious, just before 11 a.m. and called 911, Mendez said.
Paramedics arrived moments later and found the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries, the nature of which weren’t disclosed.
On Monday morning, Smith died at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit at (760) 393-3527.
–City News Service