Skip to main content
News

Man Allegedly Dumped Fiancée’s Dismembered Body Into San Francisco Bay

Written by Jonah Owen LambPublished Sep. 13, 2023 • 4:48pm
Alameda County Coroner’s Office arrives at the scene of a homicide at Lake Merritt BART Station in Oakland on Aug. 8. | Source: RJ Mickelson/The Standard

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has filed murder charges against a 42-year-old man in a gruesome case in which he allegedly dismembered his fiancée’s body and dumped it in the bay. 

Joseph Roberts, 42, faces murder charges for the alleged killing, which may have occurred in July.

Rachel Imani Buckner’s dismembered body was found July 20 in a plastic bag near the eastern mouth of the Alameda-Oakland estuary, according to the Alameda Police Department.

The remains were found near Bay Farm Island Bridge, and a subsequent autopsy ruled the death a homicide. 

Because the remains could not be immediately identified, the department began looking into missing persons cases.

It wasn’t until Aug. 30 that DNA evidence helped the department identify the body as that of 27-year-old Bruckner, who had gone missing earlier in the summer.

Pleasanton resident Roberts, the case’s main suspect, was arrested on Sept. 6. and charged with murder last week.

Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at jonah@sfstandard.com


San Francisco Fentanyl Dealer Convicted for Running a ‘Virtual Pharmacy’

San Francisco Fentanyl Dealer Convicted for Running a ‘Virtual Pharmacy’


San Francisco Cop Threatened To Shoot Man in the Back 3 Times, Case Tossed

San Francisco Cop Threatened To Shoot Man in the Back 3 Times, Case Tossed


Iconic Downtown San Francisco Nordstrom Sign Removed

Iconic Downtown San Francisco Nordstrom Sign Removed


Folsom Street Fair: Here Are the Street Closures and Muni Changes

Folsom Street Fair: Here Are the Street Closures and Muni Changes


Bishop Accused of Misusing United Methodist Church Property in San Francisco Is Acquitted

Bishop Accused of Misusing United Methodist Church Property in San Francisco Is Acquitted