A young woman at just the start of a seemingly successful career as a user experience designer was found dead in her apartment last week in Presidio Heights, and police are investigating the case as a homicide that was possibly the result of domestic violence.
We learned from the SFPD that they had found a woman's body Thursday inside a home on Clay Street in Pacific Heights, while performing a welfare check. By the weekend, police sources were saying the case was being investigated as one of domestic violence. The cause of death has not been publicized.
As the Chronicle now reports, the victim has been identified as 27-year-old Kimberly Wong, a UX designer who had worked at SF startups the last few years, first at Splunk from 2017 to 2021 — starting there as an intern and being promoted to UX designer. Since mid-2021, she has worked in product design at Plaid, per her LinkedIn.
It appears Wong owned the condo she lived in on the 3200 block of Clay Street, and neighbors tell the Chronicle that there may have been a live-in boyfriend for some period of time — though no one seemed sure how long he had been living there. Wong had reportedly been in the building for about four years, and served as the homeowners' association secretary.
"This is a real shocker," one neighbor tells the Chronicle. "People were very shaken."
That neighbor said they had last seen Wong in mid-November as she was trying to pull her car out of the garage.
Former employer Splunk gave a statement to the paper saying they were "deeply saddened to hear of Kimberly Wong’s passing," and adding that she was a "hardworking, dedicated employee and will be missed."
Wong explained on her personal resume site, "Before jumping into San Francisco’s tech scene, I graduated from the University of Washington’s Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) B.S. program, where I sparked an interest for bridging the gap between people and technology. Here, I worked with Amazon Global Security Operations on my senior capstone, and spent time leading the Society of Women Engineers and Women in User Experience student organizations."
She added, "When I’m not pushing pixels, I love creating illustrations, doing crosswords, cooking, doing yoga, and getting outdoors for a morning cycling excursion or a hike."
The site also includes examples of her illustration work for a Women's History Month office project.
The SFPD's Homicide Detail is currently handling the case, and no arrest has been made.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with 'SFPD.'
Previously: Possible Homicide In Presidio Heights as Police Investigate Woman's Death