Mummified body found in Oakland convention center identified

The mummified body found inside the wall of Oakland's shuttered convention center has been identified as a man who was reported missing in September 2020.

Authorities say that Joseph Mejica, 40, is the person whose remains were found by contractors at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center last month. He was discovered in a space that was 15 inches wide and 12 feet deep, police said previously.

Mejica was a homeless man who had been reported missing, the Alameda County Coroner said. Officials determined his identity by cross-referencing the plate found in his ankle with records from Highland Hospital.

DNA samples were also used to confirm that he was the missing man.

Authorities have not said how he died or why he was inside the building, which has been undergoing extensive construction.

Based on the level of decomposition, authorities had estimated that the body had been in the wall for three to five years.