Police investigate possible homicide under Interstate 93 in Boston

By Martin Finucane and Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

A man was found dead this morning under the I-93 North overpass near Albany and Traveler streets in the South End, the apparent victim of a possible homicide, authorities said.

State Police and the Suffolk County district attorney’s office said investigators were probing the facts and circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

“Preliminary evidence suggests this was a homicide,” said one law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

The area is frequented by homeless people, but it was not known if the victim was homeless, State Police said.

“It’s possible he was a member of the homeless population in that area, but there are also things that suggest he was not. That remains part of the ongoing investigation,” the official said.

State Police patrol units, crime scene specialists, and detectives from the Suffolk district attorney’s office combed the scene Monday.

No further information was immediately available.

Officials have not released the man’s name or the manner in which he died, but a pool of blood could be seen near the middle-aged victim, who was covered in a white sheet. Investigators wearing white “booties” walked slowly through the crime scene looking for evidence between stacked concrete road barriers and barrels, using flashlights to illuminate some spaces.

The investigators carried away several brown paper bags, putting them into the trunks of their cars. At least twice, investigators pulled the sheet off the victim momentarily. The man, who appeared to be white, wore a blue short-sleeve shirt and was on his side. He appeared to have little to no hair on the top of his head and slight stubble on his face.

The space where the victim was found is unpaved but even ground and bordered by a small black fence, and doesn’t receive much direct sunlight. The body was near a big pile of unused cobblestones and dirt and two massive round concrete columns that support the highway.

There was some litter near the fence, including beverage bottles, syringes and condoms.