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DERBY DEATH: Churchill Downs death probe yields no suspects

Posted at 12:24 PM, May 07, 2012
and last updated 2012-05-07 12:24:43-04
Highlights
  • A medical examiner is investigating the death of a Churchill Downs stable worker
  • The body was discovered Sunday morning in the back of a barn
  • About 400 people were in the area Saturday night, a police spokesman says

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) — A medical examiner is investigating the death of a 48-year-old stable worker named Adan Fabian Perez, a Guatemala native discovered in the back of a barn at Churchill Downs one day after the storied Louisville racetrack hosted the Kentucky Derby.

There are no suspects at this time, Louisville Police Lt. Barry Wilkerson said Monday, noting that police are investigating several altercations that occurred at the track.

It is not clear if those altercations are related to Perez’s death, which police are treating as a possible homicide.

Workers at Barn No. 8 discovered the body around 5 a.m. and notified track security, who called police, said police spokesman Robert Biven.

About 400 people were located Saturday night in the rear of the racetrack, he said. “So we are trying to speak with as many people as we possibly can. We do have a few leads coming in.”

Biven described the track’s backside as “like a mini-city,” with 48 barns, workers’ dormitories and areas where trainers live. “It’s a 24-hour operation,” he said.

Perez was working at Churchill Downs along with his 19-year-old son, who identified his father’s body.

CNN’s Deborah Feyerick contributed to this report

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