Found Deceased CA - Christopher Woitel, 50, San Francisco, 9 Jan 2021

[Puzzles8]

They found him in his apartment.

SF man missing over a month found dead in his apartment

Could be something as simple as him being under a comforter or other bedding. Sure is weird. We may find out how he died at some point, as there will be an autopsy.

Or maybe he was murdered in another apartment in his own building?

Then, later his remains were moved back to his apartment?

 

[PommyMommy]

So glad he was found but I doubt is was actually in his apartment . It would have to have been a huge apartment or the people who searched it need to be scrutinized.

Possibly there were utility rooms, water storage or some other maintenance alcove.
But how did he get there and why was there no odour? Was there a refrigeration unit there? So many questions. And what about the guy with his phone? MOO

Storage... Trevor Balint was just found deceased in a storage container inside his apartment building in Japan. His apartments have storage "rooms" which I think is actually what was meant but it has yet to be clarified. MOO

So sorry to learn that Christopher is no longer with us. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.

 

[PommyMommy]

Hi Epi, welcome to Websleuths and thanks for joining in on the thread.
People here are very respectful and caring, and do some pretty impressive research that sometimes leads to some great tips that are passed on to law enforcement. (LE).

My question is did anyone check video to see if the homeless person mentioned ever entered/left Chris's apartment during the timeframe in question?

Amateur opinion and speculation

Police investigating the mysterious disappearance of Christopher Woitel — one month later - Mission Local
On Jan. 7, at 9:54 p.m., less than 48 hours before Woitel went missing, surveillance footage captured Bood entering Woitel’s apartment. The next day, at 5:45 a.m., the footage shows Bood leave. He did not return, according to footage reviewed by Williams, the private detective. Between Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, there is no footage of Bood entering or leaving the apartment.

 

[Puzzles8]

Police investigating the mysterious disappearance of Christopher Woitel — one month later - Mission Local
On Jan. 7, at 9:54 p.m., less than 48 hours before Woitel went missing, surveillance footage captured Bood entering Woitel’s apartment. The next day, at 5:45 a.m., the footage shows Bood leave. He did not return, according to footage reviewed by Williams, the private detective. Between Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, there is no footage of Bood entering or leaving the apartment.

I would think by building/fire code, there would have been at least two exit doors in an apartment building, did they all have cameras?

 

[Puzzles8]

dbm

 

[PommyMommy]

I would think by building/fire code, there would have been at least two exit doors in an apartment building, did they all have cameras?

Yes, the there's a back door which has a camera w/motion sensor at night. The PI reviewed that footage as well. He didn't find anything. MOO

Video shows an SF man at home. A month later, he's nowhere to be found.

 

[Puzzles8]

Yes, the there's a back door which has a camera w/motion sensor at night. The PI reviewed that footage as well. He didn't find anything. MOO

Video shows an SF man at home. A month later, he's nowhere to be found.

I wonder who is in charge the security cameras there. Maybe someone in the building?

IMO, motion sensors are funny things. They can be easily disabled.

Hope they also have security footage from all of his neighbors.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The mysterious case was made stranger with social media posts leading up to his disappearance, a transient man claiming psychic abilities showed him Woitel was murdered, and the surveillance footage which seemed to conflict with facts. Woitel was a computer programmer and longtime Mission District resident who was remembered by family and neighbors for his acts of his kindness, they told Mission Local.

• Woitel Had a Longtime Friendship With a Man Living in a Nearby Tent Encampment Who Claimed He Had a Vision in Which Woitel Was Murdered

• Security Footage Showed Woitel Entering His Apartment & Never Leaving But His Body Was Not Found During an Early Search

• Woitel Suffered From Depression After His Longtime Partner Died & He Dedicated His Life to Helping Others Including a Neighbor Who Said Woitel Saved His Life

• Woitel Began Behaving Strangely in the Days Leading Up to His Disappearance & Made Unusual Posts Online

• Woitel Was a Computer Programmer Who Lived in San Francisco for Decades & Friends of Woitel Described Him as a ‘Sweetheart’ With a ‘Shy Smile’

Christopher Woitel: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com


In his last contact with family, Woitel had been acting “paranoid,” worried about the Washington D.C. Capitol riots and protestors in San Francisco. According to Mission Local, Woitel texted his sister that a “man on a loudspeaker” passed by in a car, urging residents to “get out now.” He also texted asking for money, saying he wanted to stay with friends in the mountains, who were contacted but say they have not seen him.

According to Mission Local, Woitel was known to be friendly and charitable with the homeless community. He had a close relationship with a man who goes by “Bood,” who was seen entering Woitel’s apartment on January 7 and leaving January 8. That night, the two got in an argument on Facebook. Investigator Williams found Bood in possession of Woitel’s phone, which he said was sold to him. Bood also told Williams that he had “strong psychic abilities” and knew that Woitel had been murdered and dumped in the Bay.
New Details Emerge In Disappearance Of Christopher Woitel - San Francisco News

 

[10ofRods]

The mysterious case was made stranger with social media posts leading up to his disappearance, a transient man claiming psychic abilities showed him Woitel was murdered, and the surveillance footage which seemed to conflict with facts. Woitel was a computer programmer and longtime Mission District resident who was remembered by family and neighbors for his acts of his kindness, they told Mission Local.

• Woitel Had a Longtime Friendship With a Man Living in a Nearby Tent Encampment Who Claimed He Had a Vision in Which Woitel Was Murdered

• Security Footage Showed Woitel Entering His Apartment & Never Leaving But His Body Was Not Found During an Early Search

• Woitel Suffered From Depression After His Longtime Partner Died & He Dedicated His Life to Helping Others Including a Neighbor Who Said Woitel Saved His Life

• Woitel Began Behaving Strangely in the Days Leading Up to His Disappearance & Made Unusual Posts Online

• Woitel Was a Computer Programmer Who Lived in San Francisco for Decades & Friends of Woitel Described Him as a ‘Sweetheart’ With a ‘Shy Smile’

Christopher Woitel: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com


In his last contact with family, Woitel had been acting “paranoid,” worried about the Washington D.C. Capitol riots and protestors in San Francisco. According to Mission Local, Woitel texted his sister that a “man on a loudspeaker” passed by in a car, urging residents to “get out now.” He also texted asking for money, saying he wanted to stay with friends in the mountains, who were contacted but say they have not seen him.

According to Mission Local, Woitel was known to be friendly and charitable with the homeless community. He had a close relationship with a man who goes by “Bood,” who was seen entering Woitel’s apartment on January 7 and leaving January 8. That night, the two got in an argument on Facebook. Investigator Williams found Bood in possession of Woitel’s phone, which he said was sold to him. Bood also told Williams that he had “strong psychic abilities” and knew that Woitel had been murdered and dumped in the Bay.
New Details Emerge In Disappearance Of Christopher Woitel - San Francisco News

Unfortunately, he has been found deceased.

SF man missing over a month found dead in his apartment

The article is from yesterday morning. He was in his apartment. Unclear what the circumstances are.

 

[cvaldez1975]

Police, family searching for missing SF gay man

this sure does remind me of Brian Egg. they found ppl who had been living in his home and no one was ever charged!!!

 

[Limecat]

Unfortunately, he has been found deceased.

SF man missing over a month found dead in his apartment

The article is from yesterday morning. He was in his apartment. Unclear what the circumstances are.

The headline is misleading. The article itself says they have not released where he was found in the building.

 

[cvaldez1975]

Brian Egg?

no he was in the fish tanks

 

[cvaldez1975]

They found him in his apartment.

SF man missing over a month found dead in his apartment

Could be something as simple as him being under a comforter or other bedding. Sure is weird. We may find out how he died at some point, as there will be an autopsy.

yea, interesting comments here at this link

Missing Mission District resident, Christopher Woitel, found dead - Mission Local

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Missing SF Programmer is Found Dead INSIDE Apartment Building — After Police Search for 'FIRST TIME' (Exclusive Details)
While a number of outlets reported that the building had been searched by police multiple times in the past month, Chris's devastated childhood friend Mark Guarino told TooFab police searched the building for the first time... on Monday.

"It wasn't an extra search. It was just a search," he claimed. "They didn't search until this week, so it wasn't extra. They just didn't do anything until this week."

Frustrated with police inaction, the family were forced to hire a private investigator; Guarino — who spearheaded the social media campaign to find his friend — suspects the PI wasn't able to conduct a proper search of the building as he didn't have a warrant... something that would not have impeded SFPD.

As to why police were so slow to investigate, "I don't know, I couldn't even begin to guess," he said.

"Friends of mine — who have experience with other stories in the area — have said that Chris was gay, and that one of the persons questioned was homeless, and maybe those were two factors that the police have been slow to react on."

"Maybe if Chris was an executive with a tech company out there they would have responded quickly? I really don't know."

He said Chris's family are "devastated and really frustrated," but it is too early to tell if they will seek to take further steps against the police for their apparent inaction.

"That's the frustrating thing, his body had been sitting there for so long," Guarino said. "It seemed natural just to search the building... and it didn't happen until Monday. He could have been buried by now."

 

[imstilla.grandma]

yea, interesting comments here at this link

Missing Mission District resident, Christopher Woitel, found dead - Mission Local

hmmm...that might explain if they did search his apt., why his body wasn’t apparently found - possible sloppy search- in - out - all clear...

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In his report obtained by the Daily News, the private investigator, Scott Williams, said a building manager entered Woitel’s unit with a locksmith and San Francisco Police Department officers on Jan. 16, and Woitel was nowhere to be found.

Williams said he personally checked the attic space above Woitel’s unit through an opening in the ceiling inside his bathroom on Feb. 1.

“There were no signs anyone had been up in the large attic space,” he wrote in the report.
Missing computer programmer found dead in his San Francisco apartment building, family says

 

[PommyMommy]

yea, interesting comments here at this link

Missing Mission District resident, Christopher Woitel, found dead - Mission Local

Thanks for posting this. To clarify:

Over the course of a month, police, the building manager, and private investigator searched Woitel’s apartment and did not find him inside, so it is unlikely police found Woitel inside his apartment on Monday.

 

[cvaldez1975]

In his report obtained by the Daily News, the private investigator, Scott Williams, said a building manager entered Woitel’s unit with a locksmith and San Francisco Police Department officers on Jan. 16, and Woitel was nowhere to be found.

Williams said he personally checked the attic space above Woitel’s unit through an opening in the ceiling inside his bathroom on Feb. 1.

“There were no signs anyone had been up in the large attic space,” he wrote in the report.
Missing computer programmer found dead in his San Francisco apartment building, family says

paywall can u post the highlights? Thank you!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

paywall can u post the highlights? Thank you!

According to the private investigator’s report, Woitel had befriended a homeless man a couple years ago and argued with the man over Facebook shortly before disappearing with no activity on any of his banking records.

The man was later found in possession of Woitel’s cell phone at an encampment in nearby Emeryville, the report states.

The man reportedly said Woitel sold him the phone for $100 on Jan. 7.

He also told Williams that “he had strong psychic abilities and had seen in his mind that Christopher had been shot in the head and wrapped in plastic” inside his apartment “before his body was dumped in the water at the end of Mariposa Street in San Francisco near an abandoned warehouse,” according to the report.

The report said the man “could be delusional” but recommended the SFPD interview him.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A computer programmer has been found dead in the attic of his California home after seemingly vanishing mysteriously for a month, his family said on Monday.

The body of Christopher Woitel, 50, was located in the attic of his San Francisco apartment over the weekend, a representative with the San Francisco Police Department told Oxygen.com by email on Wednesday morning.

Ahead of Woitel’s disappearance, he began behaving in an out of character and paranoid manner, his family members told Mission Local. They noted that he expressed worry following the January insurrection attempt at the Capitol and told them he was hearing explosions and that he felt unsafe.

Just hours before he vanished, Woitel told his sister that he could hear a “man on a loudspeaker” outside ordering people to “get out now.”

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the SFPD 24-hour tip line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
Missing Computer Programmer Known For Inviting Unhoused People Into His Home Found Dead In His Attic