ALAMEDA, Calif. (KRON) — “In my 25 years as a police officer, I’ve by no means seen something as disturbing as this,” Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi mentioned.
Two months after a girl’s stays had been discovered alongside the shoreline of Bay Farm Island in Alameda, police mentioned they made a significant break within the case. A coroner recognized the girl as Rachel Buckner, 27, of Pleasanton, investigators instructed KRON4 Thursday.
Her stays had been discovered by a citizen who was strolling alongside the shoreline close to the Bay Farm Island bridge on July 20. Investigators found that the sufferer’s physique had been dismembered and dumped on Bay Farm Island.
Alameda Police Sgt. Spencer Mountain mentioned, “This one is fairly brutal. I’ve by no means had a dismemberment case.”
“Our investigators notified the FBI, U.S. Marshalls, the District Lawyer’s Workplace and Pleasanton PD to trace down the suspect,” Chief Joshi mentioned.
Buckner was by no means reported as lacking in Alameda County.
Police notified the girl’s household of her loss of life. Chief Joshi mentioned, “I used to be with my investigators after we made notification to the household. As you possibly can think about they had been devastated.”
Investigators went to Pleasanton the place Buckner lived along with her boyfriend, 42-year-old Joseph Roberts.
Sgt. Mountain mentioned, “The 2 of them had been courting. They may have even been engaged.” Roberts grew to become the prime suspect, and on Wednesday, he was booked into Santa Rita Jail for first-degree homicide.
Roberts and Buckner had no ties to the Metropolis of Alameda. “Neither one appears to be linked to something right here,” Mountain mentioned.
Investigators are nonetheless working to determine a motive. DNA proof linked Roberts to the killing, police mentioned. “Primarily, the principle proof on this case is DNA. His DNA and her DNA linking them collectively,” Mountain mentioned.
Roberts is locked in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin with no bail. He’s scheduled to make his first court docket look on Friday morning for an arraignment.
