RIVERSIDE – A man found murdered in his Long Beach home over the weekend was a professor at the University of California Riverside, school officials said Tuesday.

Lindon Barrett, 46, was found in his home in the 100 block of West 5th Street on Sunday. Authorities were called by neighbors who reported a foul odor coming from one of the units, Long Beach police said in a news release.

It appeared Barrett had been dead for several days, police said, and further investigation pointed to homicide.

Investigators determined the victim's vehicle was missing and started a search. Authorities found it on Paramount Boulevard and South Street, where they staked out the vehicle and waited for someone to come back to it, police said.

When Marlon Martinez, 20, of Long Beach, returned to the vehicle about 11:20 p.m. Sunday, he was taken into custody, police said.

Martinez was booked into the Long Beach city jail on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail, jail records indicate.

According to Kris Lovekin, director of communications for the college, Barrett had been at the school for a year, coming from UC Irvine.

“It's a tragedy,” Lovekin said. “Especially someone of his stature and promise and what he brought to the department.”

Long Beach police said Barrett and Martinez were acquaintances.