Dismembered body found in San Bruno: Man arrested for homicide at home near Skyline College

The fairly secluded home where Stubblefield and body parts were allegedly found is at the end of a cul-de-sac overlooking the Skyline campus, just a stone’s throw from the community college parking lot.

Nearby residents described the cozy neighborhood lined with single-family homes in the hills as typically quiet; not a place one would suspect such a gruesome crime could allegedly take place.

But returning from work, neighbors arrived to find two homes roped off with yellow crime scene tape, police vehicles blocking the cul-de-sac and vans from the county’s crime lab and Coroner’s Office being loaded with evidence.

San Bruno police Cmdr. Geoff Caldwell said he’s never encountered such a case in his 20-year career.

“It’s quite grizzly. It’s a disturbing scene,” Caldwell said.

The incident started when officers went to a home at 3781 Pacific Heights Blvd. to investigate a report of a missing person. While at the residence, investigators found what they believed to be “a human body that appeared to be dismembered,” Caldwell said. Stubblefield was found at the home and questioned before being placed under arrest, according to police.

Police would not confirm the gender or identity of the victim.

Caldwell emphasized it is not clear whether the missing person case is directly related and said police were not disclosing that person’s identity or gender noting that person’s family must be kept in mind. However, he confirmed the missing person has yet to be found.

Down the block from the home in which Stubblefield and body parts were found, police and crime scene investigators searched another single-story home at 3961 Pacific Heights Blvd.

Rod Donor, who has lived about two doors down from that home for the last 13 years, was shocked after hearing a body had been found in the neighborhood. A few weeks ago, Donor said he was approached by a private investigator who asked questions as part of the search for a neighbor who had been reported missing. Donor said he believed the neighbor worked at a flea market “buying and selling” things and said he initially thought perhaps the man had gone on vacation.

In his own garage as Thursday’s scene unfolded, Donor said the police presence wasn’t in character with the typically quiet neighborhood.

“We were surprised,” Donor said. “We didn’t know that would happen.”

As the skies grew dark and the week’s first rain broke from the clouds, other neighbors returned home from work and stood out under umbrellas to watch the incident unfold.

Caldwell noted the investigation is ongoing and couldn’t confirm why the second home was being searched.

“This is going to be a long process,” Caldwell said. “It’s going to involve the coroner, the crime lab, it’s going to be a methodical search of both locations and due diligence will be paid at each.”

One of the last times San Mateo County investigators came across a dismembered body was more than a decade ago in Daly City. In that case, Bobby Tran was sentenced to 30 years after being convicted of murdering 22-year-old Xiu “Erica” Jiang. The woman from China had been missing for nearly three years before her decomposed body parts were found June 2002 in drum kept inside a storage locker. The locker was rented in Tran’s name but auctioned off after he failed to pay rent. The new owners called police after noticing a foul odor where Jiang was discovered.

Jiang had been missing since 1999 and was killed after she had a dispute with Tran, who had supposedly arranged for her to marry a man for U.S. citizenship.

Caldwell said the relationship and motive between Stubblefield and the victim discovered Thursday is still under investigation, but noted “this looks like an isolated incident, it’s not a random act.”

When pressed on whether there were signs as to when the murder may have occurred such as decomposition, Caldwell said from initial review, “I cannot tell. … That will be up to the coroner.”

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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