Body found in suitcase floating in California lake identified as 23-year-old man

The body found stuffed inside a suitcase floating in Northern California’s Lake Merritt last month has been identified as authorities ask the public for help in solving the gruesome homicide.

Gabriel Gomez Raymundo, 23, was the victim found just before 11:00 a.m. on Oct. 31, the Oakland Police Department announced on Wednesday.

The suitcase was spotted adrift in Lake Merrit near the 1900 block of Lakeshore Avenue. At the time, police said the victim suffered unknown injuries. No updates on the injuries were provided Wednesday, though police are now calling the death a homicide.

Police released photos of Raymundo and offered a $10,000 reward in the hopes that the community could provide information about where the victim lived and worked, his associates and any tips surrounding his death.

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Gabriel Gomez Raymundo, 23, was identified as the victim who was found stuffed inside a suitcase that was floating in Lake Merritt in California on Oct. 31. (Oakland Police Department)

Authorities did not provide any updates on how long the body had been in the suitcase or water. 

Volunteers cleaning Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, discovered the suitcase on Oct. 31. (FOX2 KTVU)

Volunteers cleaning the lake first discovered the suitcase and the victim, who they said was stuffed inside in a fetal position.

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It was unclear how long the suitcase was in the water. (FOX2 KTVU)

“We grabbed one end [of the suitcase] and we realized it was too heavy,” Kevin Shomo, one of the volunteers with Lake Merritt Institute, told FOX2 KTVU. “So, we pulled it close enough to us and we said, ‘Oh wow, this thing is heavy,’ so we unzipped it and that’s what we found.”

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Authorities asked anyone with information about the case to contact the Oakland Police Department’s Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or the TIP LINE at (510) 238-7950.