OAKLAND — Police say they’ve identified the one who dumped a suitcase containing a young man's body into Lake Merritt last 12 months, but are still waiting for an autopsy report to find out the victim's explanation for death.
Police arrested 38-year-old Marice Bronson in reference to the invention of the body on Halloween 2023, but Bronson was later released without charges. Authorities say it is because while Bronson allegedly bragged to several people about dumping the body within the lake, she also claimed the victim died of a fentanyl overdose.
Now, homicide investigators are waiting to see if the victim died of an overdose or another cause, or if there’s evidence that he was still respiration when he was dumped within the lake. The final result of the report will determine whether to pursue murder charges or less serious charges related to the disposal of the body, authorities said.
The case began with a 911 call on October 31, 2023, when the body of 23-year-old Gabriel Gomez-Raymundo was found at a bit of Lake Merritt near Lakeshore Avenue. Police said they received an anonymous tip just a few days later asking them to research Bronson within the case.
Authorities said they subsequently spoke to many people who claimed Bronson took responsibility for Gomez-Raymundo being within the lake. He allegedly said things like, “I threw someone in Lake Merritt, didn't you hear about that?”
In one other case, he reportedly joked that he would hand over a one that helped get rid of the body in exchange for a $10,000 reward offered by the police.
Bronson was arrested on suspicion of murder on Sept. 4 but later released without charges, records show. He also faces a grand larceny charge in Alameda County for allegedly stealing from a TJ Maxx store in Alameda.
Police say that along with claiming that he threw Gomez-Raymundo into the lake, Bronson also testified that the 2 spent several days together at Bronson's apartment and that Gomez-Raymundo apparently died of a fentanyl overdose after sleeping for nearly two days.
Staff author Harry Harris contributed to this report.
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