An autopsy was performed Wednesday on the body of a man found by his grandmother in the trunk of his car in northeast Bakersfield.

Kern County Sheriff's investigators are looking into whether 25-year-old Elliott Roe was murdered. The cause of death is pending a toxicology report, according to a coroner's news release.

Roe's body was discovered about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday by his grandmother, Bonnie Roe, after she saw his white Toyota Camry parked on the 1600 block of Palm Drive.

"It was my grandson," Bonnie Roe said. "He had been murdered and they stuffed his body in the trunk of his car."

Roe said she had to find her grandson, because he'd been missing since for a week. When she found the car, she asked a neighborhood man to help her open the trunk.

That neighbor was Estella Orosco's boyfriend.

"He opened the trunk, because I guess the owner from the vehicle told him to help her," Orosco said. "I guess she smelled something, and they opened it, and they saw a body right there."

Orosco said her boyfriend described the victim has having jeans on, but no shirt.

Officers and technicians went through the car looking for evidence. Senior Deputy Michael Whorf said investigators are following up on several leads.

The body was decomposing, but Whorf said they can't determine when he died. Sheriff's Department officials said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body.

Some neighbors said they had not spotted the car parked on Palm Drive, but resident Isabel Carreon said she had seen the Toyota there since Sunday morning. Carreon added that it looked suspicious because the windows were left open.

Bonnie Roe said it was a horrible experience to find her grandson's body. But she had been determined to find him.

"I was just driving around, seeing if I could find his car, because he's been missing since last Thursday," she said. "And I spotted the car down here and opened up the trunk, and there he was."