Human Remains Found in Fremont Marshlands Confirmed as Those of Missing Peninsula Woman

FREMONT, CA: Human remains found in the Bay Area near Fremont’s Dumbarton Bridge last month have been confirmed as those of a woman who went missing in Brisbane a week earlier, according to the Alameda County coroner’s bureau and Brisbane police.

Though the initial grisly discovery involved only a torso on Feb. 21, Brisbane police say additional remains were located on Feb. 23, and again on Feb. 28– including some which allowed them to make a fingerprint match.

“With this new evidence, the Alameda County Coroner’s Office was able to positively identify the remains found on February 21, 2016 near the Dumbarton Pier as belonging to Shelly Titchener,” the Brisbane Police Department said in a news release.

Still, though, the case continues to raise many questions as officials say all of the woman’s remains are yet to be accounted for.

“There are still remains yet to be discovered and recovered,” police said. “We are not commenting any further on what parts of the remains are outstanding. There is no longer an active search for evidence or remains along the Fremont Shoreline.”

Titchener, 57, was reported missing by her husband Paul on Feb. 15, according to Brisbane police. Then at about 8:15 p.m. on Feb. 21, the discovery of Titchener’s dismembered torso was made by a group of people fishing in a marshland area near the Dumbarton Pier at the eastern foot of the bridge, Fremont police said.

The arms, legs and head had been severed from the torso. Two days later, on Feb. 23, detectives found additional evidence in the marshland area and contacted Brisbane police, believing the case was connected to the missing woman, Fremont police said.

See Also:

• VIDEO: See TV Interview With Husband of Missing Woman Before He Jumped From Bay Bridge
• Torso Found In Fremont Marshlands Possibly Missing Peninsula Woman

Later that day, Paul Titchener jumped to his death from the Bay Bridge in an apparent suicide. Brisbane police said he was not initially named as a suspect in his wife’s disappearance but was considered a person of interest.

Police seized computers and mobile devices belonging to the couple during a search warrant executed at their home and Paul Titchener’s business on Feb. 24 and are in the process of getting search warrants to analyze the information on those devices.

“Several items have been submitted to the San Mateo County Crime Lab for analysis. We do not have a timeline when the analysis will be complete,” police said. “Additionally, we are working on obtaining credit card and banking records for both Shelly and Paul Titchener for the days leading up to these events. Brisbane Police are also currently working on obtaining any license plate reader (LPR) information that is available to us from the surrounding bay area.”

Brisbane police also said Wednesday they were initially told Shelly was seen at a Nordstrom’s store in San Mateo on Feb. 15 but they have not found anything to substantiate that sighting.

A neighbor also reported seeing Shelly that day and police are trying to verify that statement. Investigators declined to elaborate on what evidence might tie Paul Titchener to his wife’s death.

Though the case is surrounded in mystery, police say they’ve been able to link Paul Titchener to his wife’s gruesome death.

“The Brisbane Police Department has enough information and evidence at this point to establish that Paul Titchener is a suspect in this case,” police said. “We are not commenting on what information has led us to this determination. We are continuing to investigate whether or not Paul acted alone in this case.”

PHOTO: Image of Shelly Titchener issued as a missing-person alert earlier this month by the Brisbane Police Department.

– Bay City News and Patch editor Renee Schiavone contributed to this report.