Police said the deaths at Hotel Pepper Tree are being investigated as a possible double suicide.
ANAHEIM, CA — Two men were found dead late Wednesday inside a room at Hotel Pepper Tree in Anaheim after a parent asked police to check on one of them, authorities said.
Anaheim police said officers responded just before 10 p.m. May 27 to the hotel at 2375 W. Lincoln Ave., near South Gilbert Street. The deaths remained under investigation Thursday, but police said the case did not appear to pose a danger to the public. The men’s names had not been released, and officials had not announced their ages or hometowns.
The welfare check was requested by the father of one of the men, police said. Officers went to the room and found both men dead inside. Hotel staff told investigators the men had checked in two days earlier. Anaheim police Sgt. Matt Sutter, a department public information officer, said the early evidence pointed to a double suicide. “As of right now, it appears to be a double suicide,” Sutter said.
Police did not release a detailed timeline of the men’s stay or say when they were last seen alive. Authorities also did not say whether any note was found or whether investigators recovered any weapon. The Orange County coroner is expected to make formal identifications and determine the official causes and manners of death after notification of relatives. Police said there did not appear to be any threat to the community.
The hotel is on a busy stretch of West Lincoln Avenue in west Anaheim, a few miles from Disneyland Resort and near restaurants, shops and residential streets. Guests and workers in the area described a sudden police presence Wednesday night. Sophia Ortiz, a hotel guest who said she shared a wall with the room, told reporters officers checked her room during the investigation. She said she saw signs of gunfire damage that did not pass through the wall.
Another person in the area, Amir Aboutalabi, who works near the hotel, said the scene was unsettling because visitors usually move through the area on their way to theme parks or restaurants. “I’m surprised because usually I expect to see people with the costumes that they wear in Disneyland waiting for an Uber, you know, not something serious,” Aboutalabi said.
Hotel operations continued after the bodies were found, and officials did not report any evacuation or broader public safety response. Police did not announce arrests or identify any suspect. The case remained open while investigators reviewed the scene, gathered statements and awaited findings from death investigators.
No briefing date had been announced as of Friday. Police said only limited details were available while the investigation continued and while authorities worked to notify family members.
Author note: Last updated May 29, 2026.