Skeletal remains found at UC Berkeley identified as homicide victim

BERKELEY, Calif. - The human skeletal remains discovered in an unoccupied building at the University of California, Berkeley earlier this year belonged to a man from Texas who died in a homicide, according to campus police.

The UC Berkeley Police Department said that DNA evidence indicates the remains are from Steven Lawrence McCreary, a Texas man who was last seen alive in 2009. Authorities have determined that McCreary was the victim of a homicide that occurred many years ago, based on forensic evidence. He was 37 in 2009, police said.

McCreary died of blunt force trauma to the head. His body was stuffed in a crawl space at vacant building on campus. 

Campus police said that McCreary was not affiliated with the university.

He was known to travel around the country, sometimes by train or by hitchhiking. While he spent some time in the Bay Area, he did not have a known residence here, according to police.

McCreary came to the West Coast in search of construction jobs before he lost touch with his family, according to a relative.

"He has a family that was worried about him for many, many years," said cousin Larramie Pace. "We knew it was not like ‘Stevie’ to not keep touch with someone at least once a year."

The police first became aware of the skeletal remains in January. The remains were discovered at Building 21 on the Clark Kerr campus, located on Warring Street just southeast of the main campus. The building had sat empty for many years.

Authorities are seeking assistance from the public to solve the case and are urging anyone who had interactions with McCreary to contact Detective Sergeant Jon Caires at (510) 642-0482 or jcaires@berkeley.edu or Detective Mitch Levi at (510) 642-3658 or (510) 642-3658, mlevi@berkeley.edu.