CORONER: WOMAN DIED OF STRANGULATION.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A 42-year-old woman found dead in her Lancaster trailer home early Thursday was strangled to death, coroner's officials announced Friday.

The body of Vickie Honsberger was found early Thursday morning in the bed of her trailer home behind Shutters by Angel, a business owned by her mother in the 800 block of East Avenue M.

``All we can tell at this point is that she was the victim of strangulation,'' said coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier. ``A more thorough examination will have to be done to determine anything further.''

Sheriff's deputies were called about 2:30 a.m. Thursday by her live-in boyfriend, James Scales, 30, who told them he found Honsberger's body in the trailer bedroom.

While investigators were questioning Scales, they discovered that he was required to be at another location on a ``home-monitoring'' order as the result of a burglary conviction, deputies said. Scales was required to wear an electronic device allowing authorities to monitor his whereabouts, but he had cut it off, investigators said.

Scales has not been arrested in connection with Honsberger's death but is being held without bail at the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles on suspicion of escape for cutting off the monitoring device, authorities said, and will be charged with violating his probation.

``At this point they're still working on developing the case,'' said Lt. Don Bear. ``We are still in the initial phases of the investigation, so it will take a little more time.''

Investigators are asking that anyone with additional information call Bear at the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at [phone] or the Lancaster station at [phone].