Mummified body found in wall identified as missing Oakland man

Cause of death remains unknown

A man whose “mummified” remains were found behind a wall at Oakland’s Kaiser Convention Center last month has finally been identified.

The Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau said the man whose body was found on 9 March by a construction worker was Joseph Edward Mejica, 42, of Oakland.

Mejica was last seen alive on 22 August 2020 and according to Oakland’s Police Department was a known visitor to homeless camps in the city.

A spokesperson for the coroner’s bureau told the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday that a cause of death for Mejica was still unknown, however. That is despite law enforcement not suspecting foul play and the identification of the remains.

It was suggested that Mejica could have fallen from a height inside the building, which was abandoned in 2005 before renovation work began last month, and become stuck between an inner and outer wall.

“Over time, the weight of his body went down in between the wall, sinking slowly down the wall as it began to decompose,” said Alameda County Sheriff’s Lt Ray Kelly.

When his remains were located last momth, police initially believed Mejica was a victim of a homicide before coroners suggested the remains could have been there for up to five years, according to reports.

Mejica was found two years after he was reported missing, with his family offering a $5,000 (£3,829) reward for information leading to his whereabouts at the time.

Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern told the Chronicle that authorities “were fortunate to make an identification” and that “This is a very unique investigation for us, in that the person was listed missing and found well over a year [later]”.

A key piece of evidence in the identification was a prosthetic device inserted in Mejica’s ankle in 2005 after he had an alert cation, which was reportedly found in the wall.