San Francisco medical examiner ID's body found in suitcase

SAN FRANCISCO -- A dismembered body found in a suitcase in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood last month has been identified by the medical examiner's office as a 58-year-old Vallejo resident.

Acting medical examiner administrator Christopher Wirowek announced Wednesday that the victim's name is Omar Shahwan.

Wirowek said Shahwan's body was found on 11th Street near Mission Street on Jan. 28 and that his remains were identified with the assistance of the state Department of Justice and its Bureau of Forensic Services DNA Laboratory.

Wirowek said the cause and manner of Shahwan's death are pending and the case remains under investigation.

A person of interest in the case, Mark Andrus, 59, died last Saturday, according to police.

Andrus died at a hospital in San Francisco, but police declined to say how he died or why he was seeking medical care.

Police have also declined to say where Andrus died. A spokeswoman for San Francisco General Hospital said he was not a patient there.

Police arrested Andrus on Jan. 31 in connection with the death, in which body parts were found in a suitcase and additional remains were found in a trashcan half a block away from the original scene.

Police said some of Shahwan's body parts were missing, but have declined to say which ones.

Police identified Andrus as a suspect after releasing photos of a person seen on surveillance footage near the scene and receiving an anonymous tip on Jan. 30 that he could be found in the 400 block of Turk Street.

San Francisco prosecutors declined to file charges pending further investigation and released Andrus several days later.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call San Francisco police at (415) 575-4444.