San Francisco

Headless Torso Found Inside Fish Tank in San Francisco Home of Man Reported Missing

Law enforcement sources previously said that a headless and hands-less corpse was found, but officials did not go into details at Tuesday's news conference

A human torso was found inside a fish tank at the San Francisco home of a man who had been reported missing, San Francisco Police announced Tuesday.

Residents on Clara Street in the city's South of Market neighborhood had been talking on Nextdoor about the mysterious absence of their neighbor Brian Egg since Aug. 2. Some neighbors say the last time they saw the 65-year-old on his daily walk with his dog Lucky was in early June.

A neighbor said he called police asking for a welfare check. He said a man who claimed to live at Egg's home told police and others Egg was on vacation, a story police appeared to believe until a few weeks ago.

At a news conference Tuesday, San Francisco police officials said authorities tried to contact Egg at his 228 Clara Street residence several times but no one answered the door. Egg's family filed a missing person report on Aug. 7, officials said.

"There was information left on his answering machine that he was out of town," SFPD said.

On Aug. 14, neighbors called 911 and reported a suspicious person outside Egg's home with a crime scene-cleaning truck. Police said they arrested two men, ages 52 and 39, the following day on charges of financial crimes, identify theft and homicide.

One of the men remained in jail Tuesday night wihle the other was released, police said.

On Aug. 17, a day after police obtained a search warrant for Egg's home, police located a person's torso inside a large fish tank in a concealed area of the residence, SFPD said.

Law enforcement sources previously said that a headless and hands-less corpse was found, but officials did not go into details Tuesday.

The search of the home took four days in total, officials said. Inside, police discovered cleaning products and a suspicious odor.

The medical examiner's office is working to identify the body, officials said. The investigation is still ongoing.

Neighbor Philippe Dunbar said patrol cars were parked outside the home in shifts for about two weeks.

"Another cop car would pull up, the first one would pull away, and the second one would pull into the same parking space," he said. "So there was always a cop in this alley for awhile." 

Dunbar added, "There were people going in and out with masks on."

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