A construction worker was tearing down a wall at the century-old Beaux-Arts Convention Center in Oakland, California, on March 9 when he made a horrific discovery: a mummified body believed to be that of a man in the “late stages of disintegration,” a spokesman said. of the police.
Who he is and how he got there is a mystery, but it is immediately clear that he has been there for a long time, maybe years, authorities said. What was remarkable, said a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, was that his remains “were better preserved in the wall than if they were out of the element.”
In fact, they “became mummified,” said spokesman Lieutenant Ray Kelly.
The discovery came when the Henry J. Convention Center. The Kaiser underwent a $ 64.5 million renovation approved by Auckland City Council in 2019. The 215,000-square-foot hall, which opened near the south shore of Lake Merritt in 1914 as the Civic Auditorium in Auckland has hosted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and concerts by Elvis Presley, James Brown, Bob Marley and the Grateful Dead, among many others, according to the East Bay Times. It was closed in 2005.
A decade ago, the center was the site of a violent confrontation between police and members of the Occupy movement, in which three employees were injured and about 200 protesters were arrested.
As authorities set out to determine who the man was and how he was trapped in an interior wall at the convention center, they noted that there were no obvious signs of injury.
An autopsy has been ordered. Eventually, a serial number on a metal plate in the man’s ankle unlocked the mystery. They linked the numbers to records from a nearby hospital and found a match in Joseph Mexico City, who is known to frequent homeless camps in Auckland and was reported missing in August 2020, a month after his 41st birthday.
The DNA test confirmed that the body belonged to Mr. Mexico, said Lieutenant Kelly on Tuesday.
A serial number on a plate that was surgically implanted in one of the man’s ankles prompted authorities to identify him as Mr. Mexico City. Credit … Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities said they did not know how long Mr. Mexico had been in the wall, but it was long enough for his body to be effectively mummified.
“He was there for a long time,” said the sergeant. Eric Bordy of the Alameda County Coroner’s Office. “It simply came to our notice then. It dries. The liquids dry out and just mummify. “
The cause of death was not immediately established pending the results of toxicological tests, Sergeant Bordi said, adding that officers did not suspect unfair play.
Authorities said Mr Mejica was last seen around 8pm on August 22, 2020, near the corner of Sixth and Fallon streets in Auckland, less than a 10-minute walk from the convention center. He was wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans and black shoes. The name “Amy” was tattooed on the left side of his chest, and “Joe” was tattooed on the top of his arm.
His family offered him a $ 5,000 reward. We could not contact relatives on Tuesday.
According to The San Francisco Chronicle, Mr. Mexico City’s mother told law enforcement that Mr. Mexico City occasionally tried to steal copper wire from construction sites for sale. She added that she had lost contact with him months before he disappeared and that she had called the Auckland police after learning that an unidentified body had been found.
Lieutenant Kelly said Tuesday that Mr Mexico may have lived in the convention center or sought refuge there “when he died for some reason”, probably after he was stuck or trying to get something out of it. the wall. “
“He was definitely in a place where he shouldn’t be,” he said.
Susan S. Beachy contributed to the study.
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