A Reading man was pronounced dead in Reading Hospital last weekend after he was stabbed near the Sun Rich Foods plant where he worked, Berks County Coroner Matthew J. Stitzel announced Friday.
Leonardo Antonio Mercado Gomez, 56, was found May 9 by a passerby on River Road between the Buttonwood Street Bridge and West Washington Street, the coroner said. Reading Fire Department medics transported him to the hospital.
Stitzel said physicians at Reading Hospital pronounced Mercado Gomez dead at 3:04 p.m. shortly after arrival.
The coroner’s announcement, coming six days after the killing, came in the absence of any announcement from Reading police that there was a homicide last weekend.
No arrests were reported.
Family members told investigators that Mercado Gomez had been walking home from his job at Sun Rich Foods on Gateway Drive, near River Road and Buttonwood Street, when he was attacked.
An autopsy was performed Monday by forensic pathologist Dr. Neil Hoffman at the Reading Hospital morgue. Stitzel said the cause of death was multiple stab wounds and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Anyone with information about the attacked is asked to call Reading police at 610-655-6116, or Crime Alert Berks County’s anonymous tip line, 877-373-9913. Tips can also be sent via text, using the keyword “alert berks,” to 847411. Crime Alert will pay a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.