San Francisco Police Solve Dismembered Body In Suitcase Mystery
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Almost a year to the day after body parts were found stuffed in a suitcase in San Francisco's SoMa district, police say they know exactly what happened.
The grisly discovery was made on the afternoon of January 28 last year. The suitcase containing body parts was discovered on 11th Street, north of Mission Street. Additional remains were found in a trash can half a block away from the original scene.
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Police were originally called to investigate a suspicious package at about 4:30 p.m. Officers immediately closed off a stretch of 11th off Market and opened the suitcase.
The body inside was so mutilated, police needed to call in the medical examiner to figure out if the remains were from a human being or an animal.
This week, San Francisco police investigators say they're sure that the original suspect in the case, 59-year-old Mark Andrus killed and dismembered his former roommate, 58-year-old Omar Shahwan of Vallejo.
Andrus was arrested three days after the body parts were discovered, but police were forced to release him days later after the District Attorney found there was not enough evidence to charge him.
Andrus went into septic shock and died after being rushed to the hospital less than a week later for drug-related reasons.
According to police, witnesses reported hearing someone begging for mercy inside Andrus' room.
Authorities say they are now certain Andrus was in fact the person who killed Shahwan.
