Investigators hunting cause offatal LA apartment collapse

Francisco Pineda, 32, died and 36 others were wounded in the incident.

"Somebody died and we are looking into why they died and whether anybody has any responsibility," said Lt. Clay Farrell.

If someone is found responsible, they could be brought up on criminal negligence charges or even manslaughter, authorities said.

The case is an unusual one for detectives more used to fingering live suspects believed to be responsible for the lifeless body at the crime scene.

"It is sort of uncharted ground here for a lot of people," said Sgt. John Pasquariello, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.

Detectives have interviewed more than 70 tenants, who were asked what they thought caused the 76-year-old building to collapse and about the conduct of the buildings owners and managers.

Many complained about leaky pipes, odd noises and spreading cracks in the days before the incident.

Recently investigators have focused on the building itself -- when it was inspected, what problems were found and what was done about them.

Felipe Ordonez, building manager, told officials he was unaware of any significant structural weaknesses and said he immediately responded to tenant complaints. Meanwhile, police and city officials have been unable to trace the ownership of the building.

On Friday, workers looking for signs of disrepair and neglect used heavy equipment to slowly strip away pieces of the two-story stucco and wood structure.

Some pieces were discarded while others were claimed as evidence. A few are sent to labs for analysis, to look for telltale clues that could indicate whether they helped cause the collapse.

The process, known as forensic deconstruction, ultimately could take months because of lab tests, said Marvin Specter, executive director of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers.<