WELLINGTON — The death of a Lorain man whose body was found alongside a road in Huntington Township on Thursday morning has been ruled a homicide, according to Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus.

Alberto Gutierrez, 46, was found at 7:40 a.m. Thursday south of Wellington, lying along Pratt Road just west of West Road by a local resident driving into town, Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Varady said.

“He thought he saw something odd by the edge of the road, so he pulled over,” Varady said. “He saw a man lying there.”

Matus said the body was found in a ditch in an “isolated area with no lights or houses.”

Both Matus and Capt. James Reiber of the county Sheriff’s Office declined to disclose a cause of death.

Reiber said Gutierrez was clothed and investigators want to know where he was on Wednesday night.

“If anyone has any information about where Alberto was on Thanksgiving eve, give us a call,” Reiber said.

He said authorities do not know why Gutierrez, who lived in a Lorain apartment with his father, would be in Huntington Township at the far south of the county.

Detective Sgt. Don Barker is in charge of the investigation. Anyone with information can contact Barker at (440) 323-1212 or the sheriff’s department at (440) 329-3709.

Reiber said investigators do not believe there is any connection between the deaths of Gutierrez and the killings of 19-year-old Jonathan Fernandez, whose decomposed body was found Oct. 21 along North Ridge Road in Brownhelm Township or the Nov. 18 shooting death of Jeremy Simko in his home in Vermilion.

“It’s unfortunate we’ve had three homicides in Lorain County in a short amount of time,” Reiber said.

Varady said investigators do not believe Gutierrez had been by the side of the road very long when his body was found.

He declined to comment on whether there were visible injuries to the body.

“The cause of death is unknown at this time,” he said. “We are investigating it as suspicious at this point.”

Varady and Reiber would not give details about the clothing found on Gutierrez.

Staff writer Adam Wright also contributed to this report.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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