‘Mummified’ body found in wall by construction crew at CA convention center, cops say

UPDATE on April 20, 2022: The Alameda County coroner’s bureau identified the body as 42-year-old Joseph Mejica. He was last seen Aug. 22, 2020.

Construction workers knocked down a wall at an old convention center — and discovered a “mummified” body, California deputies told news outlets.

Workers found the body at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office told KCRA. It looked like it had been in the wall for “many years,” Sgt. Ray Kelly told The Chronicle.

The body had been in the wall for so long it began to mummify, authorities told CBS San Francisco. Because it had decayed so much, it made it impossible for authorities to determine the person’s age and gender.

“Under ideal conditions a body will harden and become like leather, similar to a mummy,” Kelly told The Chronicle.

The coroner hopes to identify the body and determine a possible cause of death, according to KTVU. Police told The Chronicle they are investigating the death as a homicide.

The convention center was closed in 2005 after Oakland officials decided its operating costs were too high, according to CBS SF. The building was built in 1914, according to KTVU.

It was declared a historic landmark, and construction to rehabilitate the building was set to begin in 2020, CBS SF reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Oakland police homicide unit at 510-238-3821.

This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 10:42 AM with the headline "‘Mummified’ body found in wall by construction crew at CA convention center, cops say."