A Vallejo, California man confessed to killing Renia Lewis, 28. Her dismembered body was found in a hidden attic inside his home.
An alert went out to California Highway Patrol (CHP) after Lewis’ family reported her missing on Monday, Sept. 29. She was last seen on Friday, Sept. 26.
The family pinged Lewis’ phone. Her last location pinged at the home of Douglas Shaw on 14th Street in Vallejo.
Neighbors say Shaw lived in a detached unit in the backyard while the main house was under renovation.
Shaw, 41, gave investigators permission to enter the main house. Officers searched rooms, closets and “places a person could hide,” Sgt. Rashad Hollis, of the Vallejo Police Department, said in a press release.
Officers did not find Lewis in the main house. They obtained a search warrant and returned to search the detached unit in the backyard.
They found a hidden entry into the attic in the detached unit. Inside the compartment they found the remains of a woman believed to be Lewis.
“With a search warrant, we were able to do a thorough search, and we located Ms. Lewis inside the residence,” said Sgt. Hollis.
Shaw was arrested at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, where he worked as a mechanic. He was booked on suspicion of murder. He later confessed to killing Lewis.
Jakeem Green said his family had been looking for Lewis since she went missing.
“The last location was here. And her last ping right here,” said Green, standing in front of the house on 14th Street.
“But, we still looked in the area. We looked in garbage cans. We looked everywhere.”
Then came the news that her body was found on Tuesday. Family members told KTVU the victim had been dismembered.
“The reaction is just distraught. Confused. Lost. Hopeless,” said Green.
Lewis’ mother, Terry Lewis, was at the scene when police found her daughter’s body on Tuesday. She spoke by phone with KTVU on Wednesday.
Terry confirmed Lewis and Shaw had recently met and were not in a relationship.
“She was a grown woman,” said Terry. “What choices she made was on her. I still love her no matter what. I love all my children no matter what they’re doing – good or bad.”
Lewis would have turned 29 on Monday, Oct. 6.
