Woman Who Dismembered Roommate In 'Heinous' SF Murder Convicted: DA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A woman who killed her roommate and dismembered her body in 2018 has been convicted of murder, according to San Francisco prosecutors.

Prosecutors say tensions had been growing between Lisa Gonzales, 55, and her roommate, Margaret Mamer, 61, in the months leading up to the murder in their San Francisco apartment.

Gonzales had given Mamer 30 days' notice to move out in mid-April 2018, a witness said during trial, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

That witness, a third roommate, said during the trial that she arrived home on May 15, 2018, to Gonzales telling her not to go into the bathroom, according to prosecutors.

Later that day, the witness noticed a metallic smell in the apartment. She also heard sawing noises coming from the bathroom for four hours, prosecutors said.

Gonzale was still in the bathroom the morning after, according to prosecutors.

When she got home, the apartment smelled of cleaning supplies, a blue container with dirty clothes was missing and a hacksaw was under the sink in the laundry room, authorities said.

When the witness asked Gonzales where Mamer had gone, Gonzales said she had left, "but not the way she wanted to," prosecutors said.

Mamer's friends reported her missing on June 1, 2018, after not hearing from her for several days, authorities said.

Another person later walked into a San Francisco police station the following day and accused Gonzales of killing, dismembering and concealing a body in their basement, prosecutors said.

Officers responded to Gonzales' home in the 200 block of 14th Street that day, where she invited them inside, prosecutors said

Inside, Gonzales told officers she lived with only one roommate and that Mamer had moved to Eureka on May 15, prosecutors said.

When officers searched the storage unit associated with the apartment complex, they found a blue container with human remains, authorities said. The remains were later identified as Mamer.

After processing the apartment bathroom, the San Francisco Police Department's Crime Scene Investigation Team found Mamer's blood splatter all over the scene, authorities said.

An autopsy of Mamer revealed Gonzales had stabbed her several times, including in the heart, authorities said.

She then dismembered Mamer "to conceal what she had just done," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors announced Wednesday that a jury had found Gonzales guilty of second-degree murder, along with the allegation that she used a knife in the commission of the murder.

"The jury’s verdict delivers justice to the victim’s family and friends who continue to grieve and are still deeply impacted by this heinous murder," District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement Wednesday. "After nearly eight years, this conviction demonstrates my office’s unwavering commitment to getting justice for victims and holding offenders accountable."