Young SF woman found dead inside Presidio Heights home during welfare check, homicide suspected

SAN FRANCISCO - A young woman was found dead of a suspected homicide in San Francisco's Presidio Heights neighborhood on Thursday evening, according to police.

The neighborhood is rattled and a former co-worker of the woman is in disbelief after she was found inside her home during a welfare check. 

A neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous identified the victim as Kimberly Wong. The city's medical examiner's office later confirmed the 27-year-old woman's identity. A police source told KTVU the woman may be the victim of domestic violence. 

Officers responded at 7:12 p.m. on Thursday to a request for a well-being check at a residential building in the 3200 block of Clay Street and arrived to find the woman, who was pronounced dead, San Francisco police said.

Police did not release any other information about how she died, but said the department's homicide detail is investigating the case. No arrest has been made as of Friday afternoon and no suspect details have been officially released.

"Somebody that young and so smart. It's just, why? It's so senseless," said Alberto Forero, a former co-worker of Wong's. He described her as, "positive, smart and energetic." He's in disbelief that someone could want to hurt her. 

Two people KTVU spoke with described Wong as a joy to be around and are struggling to come to terms with her death. 

"We run into each other all the time," said the neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous. "It's pretty shocking to learn of her passing in a really tragic way." She said Wong owned her condominium unit and that her partner moved in two years ago. She said Wong was outgoing. 

"She was the first to welcome us when we first moved into the building," the neighbors said. "Always asking us how we were doing. How the weekend was."

Forero said she was nice, smart and energetic. 

"I was her manager, and we worked on making software together, and I used to sit next to her," he said. They used to work together at a tech company. He shared photos of their business trips, including a kayaking excursion in Vancouver. He said she enjoyed word games and crossword puzzles. 

"It's just classic ice-cold shock. This can't be happening. Out of everybody, nobody deserves to die but somebody that's so young. That smart. Why? It's just so senseless," Forero said. "It's incredibly unsettling that she passed in that manner. I'm hoping there's justice for her. She's a lovely person. She'll definitely be missed." 

The neighbor said she didn't see or hear anything unusual on Thursday. 

Police have not identified a suspect. This is an open and active investigation. 

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the SFPD tip line at (415) 575-4444 or to send a tip by text message to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.