Human bones found in an unoccupied building near the UC Berkeley campus are those of a Texas man who officials say was the victim of a homicide.
Police learned about the remains earlier this year and citing DNA evidence, the university said Wednesday the bones belong to Steven Lawrence McCreary, born on Oct. 8, 1972. McCreary wasn't affiliated with the university and didn't have a known residence in the Bay Area, but he spent some time in the region and was known to travel around the country, sometimes via trains or hitchhiking.
McCreary’s death was ruled a homicide due to the condition of his bones. Evidence indicates his death happened "many years ago," the university said.
McCreary was known to be alive as recently as 2009, the university said. He would have been approximately 37 years old at that time.
The remains were discovered on the Clark Kerr campus at an unoccupied building used as storage space for the university since the late 70s.
The mysterious homicide has students and alumni questioning what happened.
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"I think there needs to be some sort of justice serviced," said UC Berkeley student Sabrina Neushel. "That’s horrible, that’s really scary especially going to school here."
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“It's very confusing to me not sure what to think of it honestly,” said UC Berkeley alumni, Carlos Trujillo. “Whatever kind of investigation is occurring, that it’s resolved as soon as possible so the person’s soul can rest.”
Anyone with information about McCreary is asked to contact University of California Police Department Detective Sgt. Jon Caires at 510-642-0482 or jcaires@berkeley.edu or Detective Mitch Levi at 510-642-3658 or mlevi@berkeley.edu.
