Man arrested after dead woman’s remains found inside bag near trail

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A woman’s body was found dismembered inside of a bag on a trail by a bridge in Alameda, California, in July. Police say the remains have been identified and a suspect has been arrested.

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The Alameda Police Department said human remains were found inside a bag near the Bay Farm Island Bridge on July 20.

A preliminary autopsy determined that the manner of death was homicide, police said. At the time, the victim was unidentified but investigators took over the probe and started by searching the Missing and Unidentified Persons Database as well as contacting law enforcement agencies.

Eventually, the human remains were identified as Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner, 27. She was found by someone walking on a trail by the bridge, Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi said Thursday, according to KNTV. The remains were identified on Aug. 30, according to police.

“It’s a very disturbing case,” Joshi said, according to the news outlet. He said her family has been notified and they are devastated.

“Her death has left a void that is indescribable in her community and village,” Buckner’s family said in a statement to KTVU.

Buckner’s body was found dismembered and wrapped in plastic, police said, according to KNTV.

Joseph C. Roberts, 42, was identified as a primary suspect by police, according to KNTV. He was arrested on Sept. 6 by the U.S. Marshals Service, Pleasanton Police Department and Alameda Police Department on Wednesday in connection with Buckner’s death, police said.

Roberts was identified by KTVU as Buckner’s fiancé.

Investigators are working to identify a motive in Buckner’s death and are working to find where she was killed, KNTV reported.