The fiancée of the late tech executive Beau Mann, whose remains were found earlier this month, a full 18 months after he was last seen, has slammed authorities for dropping the ball in investigating his disappearance.
The 39-year-old’s body was found just 300 meters from his last known location in Santa Monica, California. He disappeared in November 2021 after being dropped off at an apartment building.
Mann’s fiancé, Jason Abate, told the US Sun that police “couldn’t even handle it.”
“I think it’s because they thought he was just a drug addict and gay and they didn’t care,” he said.
Mann was an LA businessman who ran a company called Sober Grid, an app that provided resources to people around the world trying to get sober.
Beau Mann (left) and his fiancé Jason Abate, who said the LAPD dropped the ball in the missing persons investigation of the late CEO whose remains were found earlier this month
Mann was last seen here, in the courtyard of an abandoned building along the 2900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica
Beau Mann was last seen around 2 p.m. on November 30, 2021, on camera at a 7-Eleven near the Sober Grid offices.
Mann then boarded an Uber and while in the vehicle texted 911.
He was dropped off in Santa Monica and never seen again.
Earlier this month, Santa Monica police confirmed that the human remains found in an abandoned apartment building belonged to Mann. His cause of death remains unclear.
Nearly a year and a half later, human remains were discovered in an abandoned apartment building by a homeless person, Abate said.
After months of working as an online amateur detective, Abate received an anonymous tip which he then passed on to Crime Stoppers.
Shortly after the tip was reported, officials were able to determine that the skeletal remains found in Santa Monica belonged to Mann.
Abate expressed anger that it took police more than a year to discover the body found only 300 meters from where the tech CEO had been deposited.
“It seemed like they weren’t taking it seriously at all,” Abate said, adding that law enforcement cases are not being prioritized.
The dilapidated apartment building in Santa Monica where Mann’s remains were found earlier this month
The abandoned complex is said to be a popular hangout for the area’s homeless and drug addicts
The derelict area was only 300 meters from Mann’s last known location
The Santa Monica Police Department has now taken over the case, telling The Sun they are investigating all possible possibilities, including murder.
“SMPD detectives are combing through all evidence gathered as of today and investigating the possibility, as we always do,” said Erika Aklufi of SMPD.
“We owe it to the victims and their families and friends to ensure that our work is done properly and completely.”
While the circumstances surrounding Mann’s death remain mysterious, Abate admitted that his fiancée may have relapsed.
However, he added that the drugs Mann was taking didn’t often cause overdoses unless they were strung.
Beau was very careful when he relapsed. He took himself to the hospital,’ Abate said.
Beau was a scared cat. While he would help everyone I know, he wouldn’t end up in a situation, in a place, that he was found by his own doing,” Abate added, saying his partner probably wouldn’t be in the dilapidated building of his own choosing. .
A private investigator hired by the Mann family believes the tech CEO took drugs that turned out to be fatal and died shortly after arriving in Santa Monica
Abate, on the other hand, claimed that Mann was responsible when he relapsed, and that he would hospitalize himself
A private investigator hired by the Mann family believes the tech CEO took drugs that turned out to be fatal and died shortly after arriving in Santa Monica.
Abate has said he last spoke to Mann the night before he returned to Los Angeles and disappeared. He had spent Thanksgiving 2021 with family in Texas.
Abate, who lives in Michigan, raised the alarm when Mann suddenly stopped answering his calls and messages.
He said it wasn’t unusual for the busy tech executive to stay for a day or so without replying, but as the time passed he was alarmed.
Abate called the LAPD, who met Mann’s assistant at his apartment to perform a health check.
The assistant reported missing on December 4, 2021.