Homeless Man Held in Transient’s Slaying

A homeless man living in Oxnard is being held at the Ventura County Jail on suspicion of murdering another transient whose body was found in a park restroom, police said Monday.

Christopher “Bird” Eason, 27, was brought in for questioning by Oxnard police Sunday afternoon after a parks department employee found 45-year-old William Terrance “Grizzly” Geib dead in the restroom at Wilson Park, at the corner of C Street and Palm Drive.

Authorities said Eason, who is 6 feet, 7 inches and weighs 220 pounds, was questioned after witnesses said they saw a man fitting his description in the area around the time Geib’s body was discovered. Police said the witnesses also named Eason as Geib’s attacker.

“He [Eason] was just walking around,” Oxnard Police Sgt. Cliff Troy said. “You give a description like that and it narrows down the potential field.”

An autopsy Monday revealed Geib’s death was the result of multiple blunt force injuries from being beaten by one or more people, a spokesman at the Ventura County medical examiner’s office said.

Following the autopsy results, Eason was arrested on suspicion of murder and later transferred to the County Jail. His bail was set at $250,000.

Police investigating the incident said Eason and Geib had apparently gotten into an argument that escalated into a fistfight. During the brawl, Eason struck Geib several times with his fists, police said.

The killing is the 34th homicide in the county this year.