Coroner rules woman’s death homicide

A 20-year-old woman found dead in March in Newport Beach was the victim of a homicide, officials said Monday.

The Orange County coroner’s recently office determined Tina Hoang was a murder victim, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe said.

Lowe declined to release the cause of death, citing the integrity of the ongoing investigation.

The coroner’s report did not change the scope of the department’s investigation, which the NBPD investigated as a suspicious death from the start, Lowe said.

On March 4, a passerby discovered Hoang’s body lying facedown in the sand near West Oceanfront and Highland Street near lifeguard Tower 71.

At the time of her death, Hoang was a recent mother who faced prostitution charges in Orange and Los Angeles counties, as well as out-of-state charges.

Lowe said no further information would be released to maintain the integrity of the investigation.

Anyone with information on the case can call Det. Garrett Fitzgerald at (949) 644-3797 or leave an anonymous tip at (800) 550-NBPD.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30