There was apparently a homicide in San Francisco last night — our first, it appears, of 2016. But even after multiple phone calls to the law enforcement agencies that might be involved in the case, few details appear to be available.
According to a crime alert sent to members of the UCSF community Thursday night:
On Thursday, January 14, 2016, at approximately 4:48 p.m., an altercation occurred between a man and a woman known to be companions in the area of 400 Parnassus. The altercation led to the woman’s death. The man was taken into custody immediately. The UCSF Police Department is currently investigating the homicide. UCSF Medical Center is fully accessible.
When I first called UCSF for more details this morning, I was referred to the San Francisco Police Department. However, when I called SFPD, I was told to call UCSF. When I asked the SFPD spokesperson if that meant that SFPD wasn't involved in the investigation and that UCSF police was solely responsible for investigation of homicides on their grounds, the spokesperson refused to comment further.
A second call to UCSF got me transferred to someone in their police chief's office, who referred me to the above crime alert. When I asked her follow-up questions, such as the suspect's name, and if he was booked into San Francisco County Jail, I was told that she didn't know, and was referred to UCSF's public affairs office. A voice mail left there had not been returned at publication time.
A spokesperson from the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office to whom I spoke this morning confirmed that a woman who died at that time and location had been brought into their office on Thursday. He could not confirm the cause of death. The deceased had yet to be identified, he said.
(I write the above not because I want a pat on the back for making a few phone calls — that's my job! But I did want you to know that I tried really hard to get more information for you guys, because especially in cases like this I believe that the more information you have, the safer we all feel. I'm sorry that I couldn't get you more this time, and will update if and when I do.)
According to a tipster who emailed SFist, "I walked past the crime scene at ~7pm, it was on a sidewalk near the UCSF parking elevators. Bloody medical supplies on the ground."
"I'm surprised there has been no news coverage," the tipster wrote.
According to UCSF's crime alert, anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the UCSF Police Department. They can be reached at 415-476-1414.
Update: The Examiner, to their credit, managed to glean a few additional details. The man and woman involved in the altercation "were not employees at UCSF," they report. Also, "David King, 46, was arrested at the same location by UCSF police and booked into County Jail at 10:31 p.m. on suspicion of murder, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department."
Update: At 2:51 p.m., I got the below statement from UCSF spokesperson Elizabeth Fernandez:
On Thursday, January 14, 2016, at approximately 4:48 p.m., a 60-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times on the UCSF Parnassus campus following a verbal altercation with a 46-year-old man, who was known to be her companion.UCSF medical staff responded immediately and provided care to the victim until an ambulance arrived. The woman was rushed to the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, San Francisco’s only trauma center, where she was pronounced dead at 5:33 p.m.
Her identity is not being released by the Office of the Medical Examiner pending notification of relatives.
The male, David Calvin King, who has a prior criminal history, was taken immediately into custody. He is being held at San Francisco County Jail on one count of homicide.
The altercation occurred in a building breezeway near the UCSF Ambulatory Care Center at 400 Parnassus.
The individuals were not employees at UCSF.
The UCSF Police Department is investigating the homicide. UCSF Medical Center is fully accessible.