Man found dead in Garden Grove flood channel was strangled; body identified

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (KABC) -- Garden Grove police are investigating the death of a 46-year-old man whose body was found in a flood channel earlier this month as a homicide and are asking for the public's help.

On Dec. 1, the day after a heavy rainstorm, a person who was out for a morning walk found a man's decomposing body wedged around the pier of the Yorkshire Avenue and Macduff Street intersection by the Anaheim Barber water channel. The body was clothed in women's jeans and Vans tennis shoes.

After a DNA profile was obtained, the man was identified Tuesday as Michael Giordano. An autopsy report revealed the cause of death to be from strangulation, according to authorities.

Police believe Giordano died somewhere else about a week before he was found and that the rainstorm could have dislodged his body upstream.

"It's quite possible that he traveled some distance in the flood control channel before being located here," said Garden Grove Police Lt. Ben Stauffer.

Giordano had not been seen for several weeks before his body was found, according to police. They're canvassing the neighborhood along Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim and Garden Grove, where Giordano was known to stay in motels.

"We're trying to backtrack his steps prior to Dec. 1 and determine if anyone had any interactions with him," said Stauffer.

So far, they do not have any suspects in the case.

Giordano has a criminal background, including drug and burglary convictions in 1998. The latest case was in 2013 for resisting a peace officer. Police are trying to find out if he had any run-ins with other people leading up to his death.

The Garden Grove Police Department is asking for anyone with more information regarding Giordano's death to contact Detective Maciel at (714) 741-5824.