Suitcase body identified as dead man’s former roommate

A dismembered body found in a suitcase in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood last month has been identified by the medical examiner’s office as 58-year-old Omar Shahwan.

Acting medical examiner administrator Christopher Wirowek announced the victim’s identity Wednesday. Shawhan was a friend and former roommate of Mark Andrus, a person of interest in the case who died at a San Francisco hospital last week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Wirowek said Shahwan’s body was found on 11th Street near Mission Street on Jan. 28 and that his remains were identified with the assistance of the state Department of Justice and its Bureau of Forensic Services DNA Laboratory. Wirowek said the cause and manner of Shahwan’s death are pending and the case remains under investigation.

Andrus, 59, died last Saturday, according to police. Andrus died at a hospital in San Francisco, but police declined to say how he died or why he was seeking medical care. Police have also declined to say where Andrus died. A spokeswoman for San Francisco General Hospital said he was not a patient there.

Police arrested Andrus on Jan. 31 in connection with the death, in which body parts were found in a suitcase and additional remains were found in a trashcan half a block away from the original scene. Police said some of Shahwan’s body parts were missing, but have declined to say which ones.

Police identified Andrus as a suspect after releasing photos of a person seen on surveillance footage near the scene and receiving an anonymous tip on Jan. 30 that he could be found in the 400 block of Turk Street. San Francisco prosecutors declined to file charges pending further investigation and released Andrus several days later.