Crissy Field murder suspect arrested in SF in FBI dawn raid

The discovery of a lifeless body in San Francisco’s Crissy Field on Nov. 12, and the dawn raid on a home in the Excelsior this week are connected, the FBI confirmed to SFGATE on Wednesday. San Francisco resident Leion Butler, 20, was arrested at their home on Lisbon Street on Monday, and charged with murder.

On the morning of Sunday, Nov. 12, dog walkers at Crissy Field discovered a body in the parking lot of the popular tourist park and beach that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge. The victim was found lying on his back in a pool of blood, with a bloody tire track leading away from the body, according to the criminal complaint seen by SFGATE. The victim had suffered “a single gunshot wound to his head.” A set of unidentified keys was found near the body. 

Investigators reviewed camera footage of cars leaving the parking lot at the time of the murder, including a 2014 Hyundai Accent that was later found on the 100 block of Kiska Road, in Hunter’s Point, where it had been abandoned and double-parked for days. That car was registered to the victim’s address, and camera footage showed Butler repeatedly approaching the car from a second vehicle parked nearby, and “wiping down the driver’s side door and interior” with “a clothing item or towel,” and speaking into a cellphone, the FBI said Tuesday.

“In addition, the video showed additional images of the defendant retrieving items from the victim’s car and eventually getting into the second vehicle and leaving the scene,” the statement reads. 

That second vehicle led the FBI to Butler, who was arrested on Monday and appeared in court on murder charges Tuesday, where they pled not guilty. 

Butler is due to appear in court today for further status on detention, the FBI said.