OAKLAND — Police say they’ve identified the person who threw a suitcase containing the body of a young man into Lake Merritt last year, but they’re still waiting on an autopsy report to determine the victim’s cause of death.
Police arrested 38-year-old Marice Bronson in connection with the discovery of the body in Halloween 2023, but Bronson was later released without charges. Authorities say that’s because while Bronson allegedly bragged to multiple people that he threw the body into the lake, he also claimed the victim died of a fentanyl overdose.
Now, homicide investigators are waiting to hear whether the victim died of an overdose, by independent means, or if there is evidence that he was still breathing when he was thrown into the lake. The outcome of the report will determine whether murder charges or less serious counts related to the body disposal will be filed, authorities said.
The case began with a 911 call on Oct. 31, 2023, when the body of Gabriel Gomez-Raymundo, 23, was found along a section of Lake Merritt near Lakeshore Avenue. Police say they received an anonymous tip days later stating they should investigate Bronson in the case.
Authorities say they subsequently spoke to numerous people who claimed that Bronson took responsibility for Gomez-Raymundo being in the lake. He allegedly said things like, “I threw somebody in Lake Merritt, didn’t you hear about it?”
In another instance, he reportedly joked about turning in a person who assisted in the body disposal and collecting a $10,000 reward being offered by police.
Bronson was arrested on suspicion of murder on Sept. 4, but later released without charges, records show. He also has a pending grand theft case in Alameda County, for allegedly stealing from a TJ Maxx store in Alameda.
Police say that in addition to the claim about having thrown Gomez-Raymundo in the lake, Bronson also said that the pair spent days together in Bronson’s apartment, and that Gomez-Raymundo died of an apparent fentanyl overdose after sleeping for nearly two days.
Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report.