Skeleton found near UC Berkeley ‘had no connection’ to university: police

A skeleton found in an unoccupied building near UC Berkeley was identified as the body of Steven Lawrence McCreary, and his death was ruled a homicide.

But McCreary, who would’ve been 50 today, didn’t have any known affiliations with the California university or a home in the area, police said, making his death that much more puzzling. 

McCreary was a Texas native last seen alive in 2009, UC Berkeley Police said. 

He was known to travel around the country, sometimes by train or hitchhiking, according to police, who said he spent some time in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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That’s the closest link law enforcement has to the unoccupied building at a residential hall complex and event space where McCreary’s remains were found in January. 

The building is about a mile from UC Berkeley’s main Bay Area campus.

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But how he died and ended up in an empty campus building is perplexing as it is scary.

“Forensic and other evidence indicates the death occurred many years ago,” UC Berkeley said in a statement. “Based on the condition of the bones analyzed by the Alameda County Coroner’s Office, McCreary’s death is a homicide.”

Police have turned to the public and asked for help closing the case.

Anyone with information about McCreary or anyone who interacted with him is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Jon Caires at 510-642-0482, jcaires@berkeley.edu or Det. Mitch Levi at 510-642-3658, mlevi@berkeley.edu.