The Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an apparent homicide south of Luverne.

Deputies responding to a call around 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon found the body of Michael J. Smith, 59, in his front yard at the Clyde Hall trailer park on the Old Brantley-Luverne Highway.

“The deputies saw that something was suspicious, so they called in the investigators,” said CCSO investigator Ronnie White.

White said that Smith was beaten about his body and had suffered other injuries.

His body was turned over to the coroner and the forensics lab, and White said the case appears to be a homicide.

Two people are in custody, but their names and other information have not been released.

More information will be posted as it develops.