After finding “no signs of the missing woman” upon a welfare check and “cursory search” of the property on Sunday, FBI became involved and returned to the property two days later with a search warrant.
A Berkeley woman reported missing in California has been found in what authorities called a “secret” attic in a residence police had already searched once. After finding the body, a suspect has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murder.
Talking with KTVU, the mother of Renia Lewis, 28, said that she’d not heard from her daughter since last Friday, which was unusual. She was able to track Lewis’ phone to an area near 14th Street in Vallejo, and so she and some other family members went to that area and conducted a search of their own on Sunday, September 28.
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She told the news station that her daughter’s boyfriend found her phone on the roof of an abandoned local school building, but there was no sign of Lewis. After reaching out to her daughter’s best friend and finding out she’d not spoken to Lewis in a couples of days, either, the family reported her missing.
On Tuesday, the Vallejo Police Department detailed in a press release the desperate search for Lewis, which began when she was reported missing. On that same day, the investigation led officers with the VPD to a property “in the unit block of 14th Street,” with the department sharing that “there were indications that the missing woman may have been inside the residence at some point before going missing.”
The release states that officers entered the home “to conduct a welfare check and a cursory search of all rooms, closets, and places a person could hide.” They did not find the missing woman or any signs of her. The following day, the California Highway Patrol approved an Ebony Alert for Lewis, while the VPD asked the FBI for assistance in the case.
The investigation by the VPD Detective Division continued pointing at that same residence, according to the release, and so the department secured a warrant to conduct a more thorough search of the property. It was during this search that they reported discovering a “concealed entry into the attic.”
Inside the attic is where they found the deceased remains of a female identified by investigators as Lewis, per KRON. The victim’s mother, alternately identified as Teri and Ruth by different media outlets, told KTVU, “We all came to search for her, not knowing she was here in the wall — gone.”
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Lewis’ cousin Latoya added, “You would miss it because my baby girl was hidden behind a wall. A secret wall they placed her behind.” One media report said that this wall appeared to have been made from drywall.
The family said that Lewis had no connection to the home where her body was found that they were aware of. She did have friends and relatives in Vallejo, however, so it wasn’t unexpected that she would go there.
Police said their investigation pointed to Douglas Shaw, 41, as the primary suspect in Lewis’ disappearance and death as there are witness reports and security camera footage from a nearby business placing her at his residence.
He was subsequently arrested at his place of employment, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, without incident, per the Chronicle. According to the department, Shaw “admitted being responsible for this heinous crime” in a statement to detectives. No motive has been revealed.
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Shaw was subsequently booked into the Solano County Jail for murder. Latoya claimed that he also admitted to police that “he threw her phone on top of the school, that’s the most information that I have.”
KTVU states that Lewis’ “body was found hidden inside a secret wall inside a detached unit” that was behind the main residence on the property, while the San Francisco Chronicle called it a “storage shed.” The main residence on the property appeared unoccupied, but police stated that “Shaw had subleased the shed for his living quarters.”
Talking with KTVU, Lewis’ family confirmed that she had recently met Shaw, but clarified that the two were not in a relationship. Lewis’ mother said that police told her family they believe the suspect took her daughter to his residence shortly before killing her, dismembering her body and stuffing the remains behind the wall in the attic.
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“He’s a monster. He’s a monster,” she said. “He cut my baby up.”
When asked if they could confirm these details, VPD spokesperson Sgt. Rashad Hollis told the newspaper, “I don’t want to go into those details. This was a heinous and heartbreaking crime.”
“This was a heartbreaking, senseless act of violence that has no place in our community,” said Chief Jason Ta in the VPD statement. “I am proud of our officers and detectives for making an arrest and solving this case. Above all, our thoughts are with the decedent’s family during this incredibly difficult time.”
“Her birthday will be on Monday, and she will never see 29,” Lewis’ mother said.
Shaw is being held without bail with his arraignment set for this afternoon in Solano County Superior Court.
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