GUILTY CA - Pearla Louis, 52, found in suitcase, San Francisco, 18 May 2010

[i.b.nora]

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7450263

Police identify woman found in suitcase in SF Bay
Wednesday, May 19, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The medical examiner has not officially ruled the case a homicide despite the fact that it may seem obvious to many.

Police say the woman may have overdosed on drugs and been dumped into the water by someone trying to avoid being implicated in a murder.

Police have identified the victim as an African American woman and say she is from San Francisco. Her family says she had been missing for a few days.

The woman's name has not yet been released. Investigators broke the sad news to her daughter Wednesday.

Even though the medical examiner has not ruled this as a homicide, police are investigating the case as a murder. Investigators believe the suitcase was dumped around Folsom and Embarcadero, where it was found early Tuesday morning.

more ...

 

[cluciano63]

Remember in case of Melanie McGuire for one, the suitcases all popped back to surface of the water...in a book on that case I read that the cases would have to be weighed down with a number of times the body weight to actually sink...she had put some weights in the suitcases but it was not enough to keep them down...

I can't imagine how the ME did not rule this a homicide?

 

[racingwild]

http://www.kron4.com/News/ArticleView/tabid/298/smid/1126/ArticleID/6053/reftab/64/t/Body%20in%20Suitcase%20Identified%20as%2052-Year%20Old%20San%20Francisco%20Woman/Default.aspx


Body in Suitcase Identified as 52-Year Old San Francisco Woman
Created by Brian Shields on 5/20/2010 1:51:00 PM

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The San Francisco Medical Examiner's office says 52-year old Perla Lewis of San Francisco is the woman whose body was found inside a suitcase along the city's Embarcadero Tuesday.

Investigators aren't yet releasing the woman's cause of death.

A child spotted the suitcase floating in the water near the Embarcadero and Folsom Tuesday morning. When firefighters opened the luggage they found the woman's body.

KRON 4's Terisa Estacio is talking with police officers and the medical examiner's office. Stay tuned to KRON 4 and KRON4.com for the latest on this developing story.

(Copyright 2010, KRON 4, All rights reserved.)

 

[kikid]

The body of a woman was found stuffed inside a suitcase after washing ashore in the San Francisco Bay.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2010/05/20/ng.body.in.suitcase.cnn?hpt=T2

 

[kikid]

(05-20) 14:16 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A woman whose body was found in the bay, stuffed in a suitcase, was identified today as a 52-year-old San Francisco resident who was reported missing Monday.

Pearla Ann Louis' death has been ruled a homicide, but police will not disclose how she was killed, said Lt. Lyn Tomioka, spokeswoman for the department.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/20/BAN01DI34E.DTL&feed=rss.news

 

[i.b.nora]

Body found in suitcase IDd as S.F. woman, 52
San Francisco Chronicle / SFGate
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, May 20, 2010

(05-20) 14:16 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- "A woman whose body was found in the bay, stuffed in a suitcase, was identified today as a 52-year-old San Francisco resident who was reported missing Monday.

Pearla Ann Louis' death has been ruled a homicide, but police will not disclose how she was killed, said Lt. Lyn Tomioka, spokeswoman for the department."

'Louis was reported missing Monday afternoon, police said. Investigators would not say who reported her missing or when she was last seen."

Note: Her body was found Tuesday morning.

"Louis was living in San Francisco and had previous addresses in Oakland, public records show. She had a history of homelessness and drug addiction, police said."

Note the difference in spelling of the name.

 

[Sheromom]

So sad; sounds like she had an awful life and an awful death. At least someone loved her enough to report her missing. Prayers for that person and other who loved her.

 

[BeanE]

Police, family plead for clues in woman's death
Sunday, May 23, 2010

On Saturday, the family and friends of the woman whose body was inside that suitcase lined up in front of a row of reporters and television cameras to ask for help in finding Pearla Ann Louis' killer - and that the 52-year-old woman be remembered for reasons besides the horrific aftermath of her death.

"She was a mother, a grandmother, an only daughter, a cousin and a friend," daughter Ayesha Louis, 30, said as two homicide investigators stood nearby. "We want to keep that positive life before the media as well as the tragic end of her life."

The police have released few details about Pearla Louis and her death except that the family's final contact with her was through a phone call last Sunday. She was reported missing Monday afternoon, and on Tuesday morning city employees from a nearby fire station retrieved the suitcase from the murky bay on the Embarcadero at Folsom Street.

snip

Louis had four children and two grandchildren. The speakers included her only son, Kareem Marshall.

"She was a hilarious person who always had jokes and a funny story to tell," her son recalled. "She was very accepting to a lot of people and made a lot of friends."

Ayesha Louis asked for help not only from people who might have seen her mother in the last hours of her life, but also from the person responsible for her death: "We realize the burden that even a murderer or a suspect has to carry around."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/22/BAKR1DJ3NL.DTL#ixzz0olCSvWfY

 

[BeanE]

Family of woman found in suitcase plead for help
Saturday, May 22, 2010

"We need to know where Pearla was last weekend, from the time that the last person we know of saw her until the point where her body ended up here at the Embarcadero," San Francisco police spokesperson Lt. Lyn Tomioka said.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7456613

 

[BeanE]

Posted: Saturday, 22 May 2010 2:05PM
Suitcase Victim's Family Speaks

“The streets say that there’s a no snitching clause, but like I said, this is a tragedy. My mother did not ask for this. She was a mother, a grandmother and the only daughter of my grandmother,” said Kareem.

http://www.kcbs.com/bayareanews/Suitcase-Victim-s-Family-Speaks/7158616

 

[BeanE]

Family Of Woman Found In Suitcase Canvassing City
Updated: 11:34 am PDT May 23, 2010

Pearla Louis, 52, of San Francisco, was last heard from the morning of May 15 when she and her daughter exchanged their daily phone call at 6 a.m., San Francisco police Lt. Lyn Tomioka said.

Her family reported Louis missing at about 3 p.m. Monday, and shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday a suitcase was found in the water near the Embarcadero and Folsom Street with Louis inside, Tomioka said.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/23649946/detail.html

 

[panthera]

This is so sad. At least she was in daily contact with her family, but it's unfortunate she was out there on the streets to begin with.

MOO

 

[Kat]

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/06/sfpd_announces_two_big_arrests.php

By Peter Jamison, Friday, Jun. 4 2010 @ 6:01PM

...Police have also arrested San Francisco resident Lee Bell, 47, for the murder of Louis, whose body was found last month in a suitcase floating near Folsom and Embarcadero. Speaking at today's press conference, SFPD homicide inspector Michael Dudoroff said Bell and Louis "had a relationship" but would not comment on a motive for the killing.

 

[arielilane]

What a horrible and sad story. No one should be treated like that. We seek Justice for Pearla.

 

[fran]

From this article, it appears LE may have been on to this guy from the beginning. ala,............previous alleged abuse involved in their relationship.

I pray they have enough to convict and that Pearla's family can find peace now that he's behind bars.

Bless the loved ones of Pearla Louis.

JMHO
fran


http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7488078

Man pleads not guilty to murdering Pearla Louis

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco man pleaded not guilty to a murder charge today for the killing of 52-year-old Pearla Louis, the woman whose body was found inside a suitcase floating in the San Francisco Bay last month.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<more at link>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

 

[OkieGranny]

Most recent update I can find is from February 2014:

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Competency-hearing-set-in-S-F-suitcase-killing-5225319.php

A San Francisco man held in the alleged domestic violence murder of a homeless woman whose body was found in the bay may not be mentally competent to stand trial, his attorney told a judge Tuesday...

Police arrested Bell after footage from a surveillance camera showed a man matching his description carrying a suitcase like the one in which Louis was later found. She had been beaten and strangled.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://abc7news.com/news/trial-begins-for-man-accused-of-stuffing-body-into-suitcase/2070863/

"I'm always here to show my support for her and who she was," said Ayesha Louis, the daughter of Pearla Louis who was murdered 7 years ago. Louis now wears a wristband that reads "In loving memory of Pearla."

Pearla Louis' body eventually washing ashore off the Embarcadero, near the Bay Bridge.

Her friend, 55-year-old Lee Bell is finally standing trial seven years later.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Fate of man accused of murdering woman, dumping body-filled suitcase into SF Bay in jury’s hands

http://www.sfexaminer.com/fate-man-accused-murdering-woman-dumping-body-filled-suitcase-sf-bay-jurys-hands/

“Her body was broken, bruised and battered,” said prosecutor Michael Swart, who displayed an enlarged photo of the opened suitcase and the 52-year-old’s body from the May 18, 2010, scene, in his closing argument in the San Francisco Superior Courtroom of Judge Carol Yaggy on Monday.

The closing arguments of Bell’s murder trial for the alleged killing of Louis centered on Bell’s history of domestic violence, DNA evidence found on the suitcase he allegedly used to dump her body and a number of conflicting witness statements.

But Bell’s defense attorney contended the prosecution has the wrong man based on the lack of wounds on Bell, the misidentification of a suitcase in a surveillance video, inconclusive DNA and faulty police work.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Lee Bell: Man convicted of murdering woman found stuffed in suitcase

http://www.ktvu.com/news/ktvu-local-news/261678542-story

San Francisco Superior Court jurors on Thursday found Lee Bell guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Pearla Louis, whose body was found in a suitcase floating in San Francisco Bay seven years ago.

Defense attorney Malcolm Smith today said he was somewhat surprised the jury came back with a first-degree murder verdict, rather than second-degree, but declined to question the jury's decision.

Bell remains in custody without bail, and will be sentenced at a future date.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Killer Sentenced in Gruesome Domestic Violence Case

A morbid tale of domestic violence, murder, and a sad attempt to hide evidence reached an end in a San Francisco courtroom today, when Lee Bell, 55, was sentenced to life in prison. The sentencing, handed down by Judge Carol Yaggy, came several months after a jury found Bell guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his former girlfriend, Pearla Louis. Louis’ body was found in a suitcase floating in the Bay in 2010.

Bell spoke after receiving his sentencing, blaming mental illness for the crime. “I’ve gotten better but I still suffer from some things,” he said. “I’m exceedingly sorry. I cannot say that I murdered Pearla, but Pearla died because of me. I want to bring closure to the family.”

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sf-man-sentenced-life-2010-domestic-violence-murder-woman-found-dead-suitcase/

“I’ve spent the last eight years blaming myself for not protecting her,” said Kareem Marshall, Pearla Louis’ son.

“I forgive you. I pray and hope that you get right with God and that you find peace,” he said to Bell.

“This has been a very long and hard eight years for my family,” Ayesha Louis, Pearla Louis’ daughter, said.

“I feel sorry for you, your life is over,” she said. “You have not shown remorse and you have played victim,” she said.