Body found buried on California man's property, but he denies murder charge: report

A body was found buried on a man’s property in California and now police say the property owner denies the allegations that he murdered the victim.

On July 14, deputies were called to the home of Nicholas Andrew Burg, 29, to investigate a “suspicious circumstance” on the property, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Once on the property, officials said they found a man’s body buried. The body was exhumed and an autopsy was completed on July 17, police said.

While the sheriff’s department did not release the cause of the man’s death, they said the autopsy determined the manner of death to be homicide.

According to authorities, they are still working to positively identify the victim, but the criminal complaint identifies him as John Doe and he was killed either July 12 or 13.

Burg was arrested on July 16 and was charged with murder, auto theft and receiving a stolen vehicle for crimes allegedly committed on July 13 and 14, police said.

He remains in custody without bail, officials said.