There's an update in a brutal stabbing case from March 2023 in which a beloved member of the Oakland Gay Men's Chorus and Olivet Oakland Church choir was brutally killed in his own apartment.

An arrest was made shortly after the killing of 53-year-old Curtis Marsh on March 4, 2023, and the suspect was identified as 38-year-old Sweven Waterman, a custodian at UC Berkeley. Waterman had allegedly exchanged multiple phone calls with Marsh early in the morning of March 4, minutes before he was seen on surveillance video entering Marsh's building.

The Berkeley Scanner has the details from Waterman's preliminary hearing, which took place several weeks ago after considerable delays. As the Bay Area Reporter reported in April, the hearing was delayed a total five times before it finally commenced on June 17.

No motive for the killing has been discussed, though it certainly has the hallmarks of a sex date gone wrong. Waterman's attorney has contended that he did not know Marsh, and it's not yet clear from the evidence shown at the hearing whether they met on app, or how their meeting may have been arranged. Police also did not discuss what they believe occurred in Marsh's apartment over the course of about 90 minutes, before they say Waterman left the building. This followed the sounds of loud fighting around 7:45 am on a Saturday, according to neighbors, and one neighbor reportedly found Marsh, nude, bloodied and fatally wounded with multiple stab wounds, on his apartment balcony.

One anonymous neighbor told KTVU that they had heard screams "Help!" before Marsh was found on the balcony.

As the Berkeley Scanner reports from the court transcript, the crime scene included "two small arson fires that had been extinguished along with 1-2 inches of water from the overhead sprinklers."

Waterman's defense attorney appears to want to cast doubt about how many people were in the apartment at the time of Marsh's death. Police have not said there was any evidence of other individuals, however DNA testing of the presumed murder weapon, a bent steak knife found in the apartment's hallway, found DNA for Marsh, Waterman, and two other individuals.

Also, Marsh's cellphone has never been recovered, which seems like it would be a key piece of evidence.

Waterman's attorney, David J. Briggs, previously told the Bay Area Reporter that he "could not comment" on Waterman's sexual orientation.

In addition to the cellphone records, a Lime scooter rental record is part of the evidence — Waterman rented the scooter in his own name and rode it that morning to Vernon Street, the location of Marsh's apartment.

Judge Rhonda Burgess presided over the hearing, which included testimony from two Oakland police officers and a DNA expert. Burgess concluded that there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, and the next procedural hearing will happen August 23.

Waterman has served time for multiple crimes, dating back to a juvenile arrest in 1997 for armed robbery. He also committed multiple parole violations, and was last in a federal lockup in 2016.

Marsh worked as a hair stylist, and performed in drag under the name Touri Monroe. His family described in an obituary as having a "larger than life personality." In addition to his family in Iowa, Marsh is survived by a boyfriend with whom he may have been sharing the apartment. The boyfriend, who was initially considered a suspect, was reportedly staying in Emeryville at the time of the murder, and his alibi was corroborated by cellphone records.

Previously: Oakland Gay Men's Chorus Member Stabbed And Killed In His Own Lake Merritt Apartment Building

Photo of Curtis Marsh via Facebook