Authorities called to an apartment complex in Marina Del Rey last night discovered the body of a man slumped on a third-floor balcony. The deceased, said to be about 75, had suffered a gunshot wound, thought to be self-inflicted. The twist: Neighbors had seen the body, in plain view, over the much of the week but dismissed it as a Halloween prop.

Austin Raishbrook, director of RMG News, said he heard the report of a body broadcast on a Sheriff's frequency about 5:30 p.m. yesterday and went to the scene at 13914 Bora Bora Way to shoot stringer video himself.

“One neighbor said

he saw the body on Monday but didn't do anything about it because It looked

like a Halloween prop,” Raishbrook told LA Weekly. “You could see the body in plain view on the

third floor. It did look unreal.”

He says someone finally did call authorities — likely because “blood had dripped from the third floor to two balconies below. It wasn't

a pleasant scene.”

“It did look like a dummy,” he says. “I do have some

gruesome video.”

Officials told Raishbrook, he says, that the fatal wound appeared to be self-inflicted.

“A

couple of women walked passed with stollers,” he said. “They couldn't believe it

happened in the neighborhood. There was disbelief.”

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