37-year-old woman's body found in duffel bag at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, mom confirms
SAN FRANCISCO -- A woman's body was found inside a duffle bag at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park Sunday evening. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has identified the person as 37-year-old Kelly (Brock) Koike of San Francisco.
Our sister station, ABC7 News, spoke with the woman's mother Monday evening in Castro Valley who was told that her daughter, who was unhoused, was found dead in a duffel bag. Her mother described the conversation she had Monday with the coroner.
"Yesterday, they found your daughter in a duffel bag. A dog walker found her," Roya said.
Roya Koike tells us her daughter was living on the streets of San Francisco and suffered from a mental illness. Saying she had a lifelong passion for makeup and design, even changing her eye color to all white at one point.
"I know deep deep down in her, without this part here (pointing to her head), she's a good girl. She has a messed up here (pointing to her head), but she got killed?" she said.
Police will only say this is a suspicious death. Investigators worked late into the night Sunday at Golden Gate Park but so far no arrests have been made.
Roya says she remembers the good times, when they would go to Benihana as a family. She says Kelly graduated from culinary school and then worked as a concierge in San Francisco, but the mental challenges that started in her teens eventually overtook everything else.
VIDEO: Neighbors horrified after body reportedly found in duffel bag at Golden Gate Park near Outside Lands
Roya says she feared for her daughter's safety in San Francisco, but was also fearful for her own safety when her daughter was home and not on her medication.
"Being homeless in the city, I knew something bad would happen," Roya said.
Roya wishes Kelly would have been more open to receiving treatment that may have helped get her off the streets.
"Very sad, it's so sad, she was, I know I'm the mother, but I show you pictures. She was knockout gorgeous, I mean she was beautiful."
By Monday morning, the area surrounding 22nd Avenue and Fulton was quiet.
However, this past weekend, tens-of-thousands of Outside Lands festival goers packed Golden Gate Park. The grisly discovery was made off a walkway, about a mile away.
"It's horrifying. It's a very sad, sad circumstance," Neighbor Michele Hunnewell told ABC7 News. " And, our neighbors... Everybody came out of the house because the officers were there. They had it all taped off. And people were just aghast. I mean, I shocked!"
Hunnewell lives nearby and shared her shock over the news.
"The police officer came to our front door and asked if we had camera footage, and that's how I found out," she explained. "And of course, I was shocked because this isn't that kind of neighborhood normally. But yeah, it was very sad and very shocking and I'm disappointed that that that had to happen on a nice weekend."
ABC7 News broke the news to Megan Hiatt during her early morning run. Hiatt grew up in The Richmond.
"I have a 12-year-old that I would normally be happy to let them wander through the park by themselves. So yeah, completely horrifying..." She said.
SFPD released an update overnight, only describing a witness had told officers they located an "unresponsive adult female," then called police.
Those who frequent the area say, while horrifying and concerning, they continue to feel safe.
"There have been, you know, random things happen over the years that I wouldn't want to limit the freedom that we have with this glorious park because of one really grisly, terrible thing that happened to somebody," Hiatt said.
SFPD has an active homicide investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD 24-hour Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
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