Body Found In Angeles National Forest ID'ed As Murdered Ventura County Roommate

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST (CBSLA) — Human remains found in the Angeles National Forest were identified as a man authorities say was murdered by his roommate at their Ventura County home last month.

A game warden with the Department of Fish and Wildlife on patrol in the area of Upper Big Tujunga Road and Colby Ranch Road discovered a man's partially decomposed body hidden in a large brush area of the forest Sunday, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

The remains were initially investigated as an unidentified homicide victim. When detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office became aware of the discovery, they worked with Los Angeles County agencies to identify the remains as Houston Auer.

Auer's roommate, Cameron Lykins, was arrested on suspicion of his murder last month, even though there was no body. Authorities said a bloody scene at the Meiners Oaks home shared by the two men, and evidence in Lykins' truck when he was arrested in the Inyo County city of Lone Pine, was consistent with a homicide and the transportation of a body.

Auer's body has been transferred to Ventura County, where an autopsy will be conducted by the local coroner.

Lykins is being held on $2 million bail and will make his next court appearance on July 10.