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A Mercedes found buried in the yard of a Bay Area mansion had been reported stolen by the property’s former owner — a convict who received an $87,000 payout for the stolen car.
It comes as yet another cryptic clue in the possible murder mystery linked to former $15 million San Francisco mansion resident Johnny Bocktune Lew.
Lew, who died in 2015, reported the theft of the Mercedes-Benz in 1992 and reimbursed its value Los Angeles Times.
The damaged white car is now depicted on the back of a low-loader – complete with registration number LEW J4. Cadaver dogs discovered the “minor” possibility of human remains, although none have been found.
Lew was found guilty of murdering his wife in the 1960s, but that conviction was later overturned. He was convicted in the 1970s on two counts of attempted murder, but details of those crimes are not yet known.
Police initially feared they would find human remains in the buried Mercedes, but have yet to discover anything bloody.
“Ground radar was used on Sunday to investigate the scene,” police told the Los Angeles Times.
“This investigation revealed nothing unusual or suspicious at the scene and no human remains were found. This concluded our on-site investigation.’
It was discovered during a garden renovation at the behest of the house’s new owners – a Facebook executive and his investor wife.
On Monday, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told the: Mercury News that the absence of a body does not mean that no crime has been committed.
“As far as I know, he may have killed someone and thrown the body away,” he said.
‘Then why not leave the car somewhere else? It’s weird.’
He added that he looks forward to seeing if a forensic examination of the Mercedes yields DNA or other evidence — insurance fraud that cannot explain why the car was buried or why the cadaver dogs continued to point to the presence of human remains.
He said the case contains elements of a true crime novel, but authorities have yet to establish any concrete connections.
“This book has 15 chapters and we only have two chapters,” Wagstaffe said.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get the other chapters, but I hope so because it’s an interesting story.”
The former owner of a $15 million mansion in San Francisco, where a buried Mercedes was discovered, had reported that the now-excavated (pictured) vehicle was stolen in 1992
Johnny Bocktune Lew, who died in 2015, has a decades-long history of arrests for fraud and even murder of Lew, collecting $87,000 in insurance on the vehicle (pictured)
Silicon Valley police have been working to unravel the potential murder mystery after a wealthy couple renovated their yard unknowingly a car (pictured) filled with concrete
The excavated car is a 1991 Mercedes SL 500 (an identical example is pictured above) and although no human remains were found in the vehicle, authorities have not ruled out a crime
Neighbors told Mercury News that Lew had a violent history court documents revealing that he had been convicted of second-degree murder in 1960s Los Angeles in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend Karen Gervasi.
Court documents revealed that this conviction was later reversed in 1968, although it is unclear why.
However, Lew was later convicted of two attempted murders in the 1970s according to the Los Angeles Times.
In 1990 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Lew was arrested again for insurance fraud after he tried to hire people, who turned out to be undercover agents, to sink his $1.2 million twin-engine yacht.
According to the report, Lew told investigators that the yacht belonged to Asian crime bosses and anyone who disclosed the plan would be killed.
It is alleged that he asked the agents to take the boat west to the Golden Gate Bridge in international waters and “lay it on the bottom” in exchange for $50,000.
In Atherton, authorities spent several days excavating the Mercedes before towing it to the San Mateo County Crime Lab on Saturday for analysis.
Current owners Paul Saab and Christal Condon Saab live in the $15 million home with their three young children. Paul is a software engineer at Facebook and Christal is an angel investor. Records show that they purchased the property in 2020.
On Thursday, while digging the yard to do renovations, the couple’s team of contractors discovered a car buried deep in the ground behind the house.
Cadaver dogs were brought in and discovered a “minor” possibility of human remains.
On Thursday, while excavating the yard for renovations, the couple’s team of contractors discovered a car buried deep in the ground behind the house.
Cadaver dogs were brought in and discovered a “minor” possibility of human remains. The car was registered to a previous owner of the house and the police think it is from the 90s
Ownership records showed that the Lew family lived in the house between 1990 and 2014, and unused bags of concrete were placed throughout the vehicle – when discovered – covered in dirt over the roof
The car was registered to a previous owner of the house, and police believe it is from 1990s ownership records showing that the Lews lived in the house between 1990 and 2014.
Unused bags of concrete were placed throughout the vehicle, although it was covered in dirt on the roof.
The 1.63-acre property includes the 12,000-square-foot home and was purchased by the current owners in 2020 for $15 million.
The mansion was built in 1990 and sold in 2014 for $7.3 million.
It has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms and includes a private pool and was available for rent before the 2014 sale.
Multiple patrol cars, SUVs and firefighters came to help at the possible crime scene.
Police said in a statement: “On Thursday, October 20, 2022, at approximately 8:50 a.m., Atherton police officers responded to a residence on the 300 block of Stockbridge Avenue regarding a buried vehicle located during a landscaping project.
“Due to the unknown reason the vehicle was buried, cadaver dogs were called to the scene. The cadaver dogs made a small report of possible human remains. The San Mateo Crime Lab was contacted and technicians were sent to help excavate the vehicle.
Current owners Paul Saab (center left) and Christal Condon (center right) Saab live in the $15 million house with their three young children (pictured) and unknowingly discovered the car during renovations
The car was found in the house (pictured) in Atherton in Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country
The median household income of the idyllic city of San Francisco is $450,000
“Excavations are ongoing and no human remains have been found at this time.
“The vehicle may have been buried sometime in the 1990s and buried about four feet in the ground.
“There were unused bags of concrete all over the vehicle. The vehicle was buried before the current homeowner occupied the home.
“The motive and circumstances of this incident are being investigated.”
Neighbor Peter Sun said of the exclusive city: “It’s a bit strange. But most of the time it’s pretty safe and it’s like everyone is doing their own thing.’
Ranked as the highest per capita income of any city in the US with a population between 2,500 and 9,999, Atherton is one of the most expensive zip codes in the country.
The median home price is about $7.5 million and locals strongly oppose any new construction, allowing only one single-family home per acre and no sidewalks to intentionally keep the neighborhood exclusive and prosperous.
Current and former residents include Paul Allen, the late Microsoft co-founder, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, Facebook executives Nick Clegg and Sheryl Sandberg, and NBA star Stephen Curry.
The median household income of the idyllic city of San Francisco is $450,000.