UPDATE (April 16, 2018, 7:52 a.m.): The Kern County Coroner's office has completed a postmortem exam and concluded that John Eric Maltby II died of strangulation and have declared his death a homicide, nine months after his death.
=========================
UPDATE (July 31, 2017): Officers with the Kern County Sheriff's Office have concluded their investigation into John Eric Maltby II's death.
=========================
UPDATE (July 18, 3:00 p.m.): The Coroner identified the 32-year-old man as John Eric Maltby II of Bakersfield.
According to the Coroner, Maltby was involved in a physical altercation with several people in the front yard of a residence during a party.
The cause of death is still pending.
==========================
The Kern County Sheriff's Office homicide detectives were called out to northwest Bakersfield overnight.
Officials said around 1:30 a.m. they were dispatched to the area of Michele Avenue and Verdugo Lane for a peace disturbance.
When deputies got on scene they found a 32-year-old man who was unresponsive and not breathing in the front yard of the residence.
Deputies immediately began life-saving efforts, but were unsuccessful.
Homicide detectives arrived and assumed the investigation.
The investigation is ongoing and the cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy.
The victims identity will be released by the Kern County Coroner's Office at a later time.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact KCSO at 861-3110.
