Former Suspect In Suitcase Body Reportedly Dies Of Drug-Related Problems In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A man was found dead just days after being released from police custody after being suspected in the death of a man whose body was found dismembered inside a suitcase in San Francisco.
Mark Jeffrey Andrus went into septic shock and died after being rushed to the hospital Saturday for drug-related reasons.
In an email, Public Defender Jeff Adachi said, "I am sorry to learn that Mark Andrus died Saturday morning. During the short time I represented Mark, I found him to be a kind and engaging person."
Andrus, 59, was released from jail Tuesday night. Andrus had been arrested Saturday in connection with the grisly discovery last Wednesday afternoon of body parts in a suitcase near the intersection of 11th and Mission streets, police said.
On Tuesday, District attorney's office spokesman Alex Bastian said that prosecutors were "very disturbed" by the facts of the case, but "given the current state of the evidence, there is insufficient evidence to charge this suspect with murder."
Andrus was detained Friday afternoon after being identified as a person of interest in the case and was booked into jail early Saturday on suspicion of murder.
Additional remains were found in a trash can half a block away from the initial crime scene Wednesday and police said some body parts remained missing.
The medical examiner's office is working with the DNA lab at the state Department of Justice to try to identify the decedent.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call San Francisco police at (415) 575-4444.