Husband named a suspect in murder of Brisbane woman after remains found

Byby Melanie Woodrow KGO logo
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Hikers find remains belonging to missing Brisbane woman
The Alameda County Coroner's Office identified the torso discovered near the Dumbarton Pier was from a missing woman named Shelly Titchener, but police have not confirmed her husband is suspect in this case.

BRISBANE, Calif. (KGO) -- The Alameda County Coroner's Office identified the torso discovered near the Dumbarton Pier was from a missing woman named Shelly Titchener.

Officials said hikers found a hand along the shoreline near the Dumbarton Bridge that helped them identify the body. "We want to solve this case we want to find out what happened to Shelly Titchener," Brisbane Police Department Sgt. Michele Borg said.

WATCH VIDEO: Coroner working to identify torso found at Fremont's Dumbarton Pier

The identification was made by a right thumbprint match to DMV records.

In the meantime the memorial outside her home grows. Brisbane investigators are encouraging anyone who saw the couple recently to contact them so they can solve this case.

Shelly disappeared the day before Valentine's Day and her husband Paul Titchener reported her missing two days later.

Officials confirmed that her husband died after jumping off the Bay Bridge.

More than two weeks after Shelly's disappearance, police said investigators had enough information and evidence to establish her husband Paul is a suspect in her death.

WATCH VIDEO: Torso found in Fremont could be linked to missing Brisbane woman

Officials said it's what investigators haven't discovered that's making their jobs difficult.

There's still no crime scene.

Despite an exhaustive search last Wednesday, investigators don't believe the crime happened at the Titchener home.

The Brisbane Police Department is currently in the process of obtaining search warrants for computers and mobile devices belonging to both Shelly and Paul. The computers and mobile devices were taken from their home and Paul's business during the execution of search warrants on February 24, 2016.

Police said they will also search the couples' credit card and banking records.

Investigators also submitted evidence to a crime lab for analysis.

They're even looking at license plate reader data from surrounding areas. This is all to develop a timeline of when Shelly went missing, where the crime occurred and if anyone else besides her husband was involved. "We're still working very diligently around the clock to try to figure that out we want to know the answers to those questions as well,"

While parts of Shelly's body are still missing, there is no longer an active search for evidence or remains along the Fremont Shoreline.

Investigators say the moving body of water makes it too difficult.

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