Ceres man attacked in yard dies

A Ceres man who was attacked Wednesday afternoon while doing yardwork at a south Modesto home died Thursday afternoon at a Modesto hospital, Stanislaus County sheriff's officials said.

Bill Lee Turner, 71, suffered severe head wounds after he was attacked about 3:45 p.m. in front of a home in the 1600 block of Morgan Road, just south of East Hatch Road and west of Highway 99, said deputy Tom Letras, a sheriff's spokesman.

Letras said Turner was doing yardwork at the Morgan Road house, which he owns and is a vacant rental property. Letras said neighbors called 911 to report a man was down on the ground in front of the house. Letras said Turner was attacked, but investigators do not know why.

Investigators had not identified a suspect, but they were following up on leads Thursday evening. Sheriff's officials ask anyone with information about the attack to call sheriff's Detective Jon McQueary at 525-7099.