Man Found Dead Last Month Near Saratoga Identified

A man whose dead body was discovered by his roommate last month near Saratoga has been identified as 54-year-old Vernon Gera, but the cause of his death remains a mystery, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

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Sheriff’s officials still consider Gera’s death on Dec. 18 to be suspicious and are waiting for the Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office to determine how he died, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup said.

“We’re treating it like a homicide until it is determined it is not a homicide,” Stenderup said.

[Previous: ‘Suspicious’ Death Investigated Between Los Gatos and Saratoga.]

At 3:41 p.m. on Dec. 18, Gera’s roommate called 911 to report finding Gera’s dead body after returning to their residence in the 19000 block of Sky Oaks Way in an unincorporated county area outside of Saratoga, sheriff’s Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup said.

Sheriff’s deputies and county firefighters responded and fire personnel verified that Gera was dead, Stenderup said.

Detectives have interviewed a number of people, including members of Gera’s family, but are now seeking the public’s help in providing tips that might help solve the case, he said.

There are no suspects or any persons of interest that sheriff’s officials are willing to publicly disclose, Stenderup said. Sheriff’s officials also are not commenting on whether there were injuries to Gera’s body, he said.

Toxicology tests from samples taken from Gera’s body have not been completed by the medical examiner’s office, he said.

Sheriff’s officials are requesting anyone with information about Gera’s death to call the office’s homicide detectives at (408) 808-4431.

--Bay City News

--Image via Shutterstock

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