Lake County slayings that escalated in summer months have continued into the colder seasons, contributing to the bloodiest year the county has seen in five years, county records show.

Homicides in Lake County have jumped 26 percent over last year. Of the 110 countywide slayings, 14 have been in East Chicago. That's one less than last year's homicide totals in East Chicago -- with more than a month to go in the year.

Gary and Hammond already have surpassed their 2006 homicide totals, jumping to 68 slayings so far in Gary and 13 in Hammond.

The discovery of a dead body Monday in East Chicago diverted Juan Jones from his usual walking path around the city.

Authorities combing an area on Parrish Avenue for the remains of an unknown man forced the 40-year East Chicago resident to choose another route.

Despite a steady number of homicides in his city, Jones said crime won't drive him from his home.

"This area is very peaceful," he said.

But the city's shootings and homicides this year would suggest otherwise.

Lake County Coroner David Pastrick said the unknown man found in East Chicago likely wasn't killed at that spot. But that makes him no less upset about bodies turning up in his county.

"I think maybe something needs to be done," Pastrick said. "It's already too late for those (killed)."

Since the start of June, there have been at least 14 shooting incidents throughout East Chicago -- many the result of escalating gang violence, police have said. Of those, more than half resulted in deaths, police reports show.

John Morris has lived in the 4900 block of East Chicago's Parrish Avenue his whole life. A few years ago, he said, a body was found in a car near his house.

Things haven't gotten much better since then, he said.

"The crime is getting out of hand," he said. "It's shameful."

The city of Gary -- long known for a high per capita homicide rate -- also has seen a jump in slayings over last year.

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay adamantly has defended his city as not dangerous, attributing any violence to "a few bad apples."

"The DNA of Gary people is peace and tranquility," Clay said last week. "We don't have thugs and drugs and gangs running around loose."

What the city does have is a current homicide rate that's already eclipsed every year since 2003. At 68, Gary's homicides have jumped 33 percent since last year.

Clay blames some of the spike on domestic homicides, calling such incidents difficult to stop. He invites critics to visit Gary and witness first-hand how safe it is.

"See it for themselves, and meet Gary people. Go to our churches, and go to our affairs we have at the Genesis Center," Clay said. "And nothing will happen to them. Nothing is really happening to people who aren't breaking the law in Gary."

Hammond is racking up homicides, too. A body found Wednesday in the city puts homicides up 62.5 percent over last year with 13 so far this year.

"Sometimes you have good years, like last year," said Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., referring to when there were eight homicides in the city. "Sometimes you have bad years."

McDermott called addressing violence "a continual fight. All you can do is have a policy of persistence. In Hammond, we're fighting."

"But," he lamented, "I can't guarantee you we won't have any murders in Hammond."