Out-of-town family members found a woman's body inside of a chest freezer at a home in Allied Gardens before alerting San Diego police to investigate on Friday morning, according to the agency.
San Diego Police Department officers from Eastern Division responded to the call at the 4900 block of Zion Avenue on Friday around 11:45 a.m., police said.
SDPD's Homicide Unit is investigating the incident because of the unusual location of the body, which was found by family members inside another family member's residence.
More reports from NBC 7 San Diego
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
The Medical Examiner's Office is working to determine the cause of death.
Due to the state of the body, it is not yet clear if there has been any traumatic injury. Police believe the body to be female, but no other physical characteristics such as age or race can be determined until the body is identified, the agency said. For now, investigators are calling it a suspicious death.
The discovery has left some neighbors on edge.
"That’s a little shocking and alarming I would say – stuff like that doesn’t usually happen in a neighborhood like this. It’s been kind of scary that they found a body in the freezer – you don’t really hear about that too often," said Austin Cowdrey.
Cowdrey added he has security cameras around his house but that he will be taking extra measures to feel safe. "Probably taking a little more caution like at night time locking the doors up and just trying to stay safe so it doesn’t happen to anybody I know."
SDPD detectives are working to investigate the situation. Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call SDPD's Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.