A man was found dead inside a North Highlands home on the 3700 block of Lenore Way after his brother called 911 to report finding him lying in a pool of blood, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. Detectives and crime scene investigators were sent to the home east of Watt Avenue out of caution while investigators try to determine what happened.
Brother's Call Triggers Homicide-Level Response
According to KCRA, the Sheriff's Office Communications Center received a request for assistance around 5:15 p.m. Sunday after a caller reported finding his brother dead inside the home. The sheriff's communications center assisted the county's fire department in responding to the scene, and deputies ultimately found the body inside the residence. As reported by ABC10, deputies closed the roadway for several hours while searching the property, a graphic detail released by law enforcement that helps explain the scale of the response.
The Sheriff's Office says it is investigating whether the death was the result of a homicide, but officials will wait for an autopsy report before determining whether homicide was a factor. Under California Government Code Section 27491, the Sacramento County Coroner's Office is legally required to investigate and conduct autopsies for sudden, violent, or unattended deaths in order to establish cause and manner of death, a mandate that explains why investigators cannot yet classify the case one way or the other.
A Street With a Painful Recent History
The 3700 block of Lenore Way has been the site of violence before. On October 28, 2022, 15-year-old Encina High School student Sean Coleman was shot and killed on a front lawn on the same block, a case that drew on neighboring Ring camera footage and 911 calls as deputies investigated. In the aftermath of that shooting, local faith organizations including Trinity Life Center partnered with law enforcement and county prosecutors to offer crisis intervention and grief counseling to residents.
North Highlands is an unincorporated census-designated place in Sacramento County with no municipal police department of its own, meaning the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office North Division handles all patrol and detective work in the area. That jurisdictional setup is also why deputies, rather than a city police force, are leading this investigation. Under California Penal Code Section 11160, emergency medical responders treating traumatic or suspicious injuries are required to immediately notify local law enforcement, which is part of why fire department personnel coordinate directly with sheriff's dispatchers on calls like Sunday's.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Sudden Deaths in the County
This is not the first time this year that county deputies have opened a death investigation inside a home in an unincorporated community while awaiting autopsy results. In July, deputies opened a similar suspicious death investigation in nearby Foothill Farms after finding an adult woman dead inside an apartment during a wellness check, deploying homicide detectives immediately even before a cause of death was known.
The Sheriff's Office recorded 18 homicides across unincorporated Sacramento County in 2025, the lowest annual total in the jurisdiction in 55 years, with county officials crediting targeted gang enforcement and proactive patrolling for the decline. Across all law enforcement agencies in Sacramento County last year, 67 total homicides were recorded and 62 were cleared. North Highlands itself had a population of 47,957 and a poverty rate of 19.6% in 2024, according to Data USA, well above the statewide poverty rate of 8.5%.
No cause of death has been determined, and the Sheriff's Office has not said whether foul play is suspected or whether any suspects or persons of interest have been identified. Those questions are expected to remain open until the coroner's autopsy findings are complete.
