San Francisco woman sentenced to 31 years to life for grisly 2018 roommate killing

By Jose Fabian

The San Francisco woman who killed and dismembered her roommate in 2018 was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Monday.

Lisa Gonzales, 55, was found guilty back in April of second-degree murder by use of a deadly weapon in the killing of 61-year-old Margaret Mamer. 

The investigation into Mamer’s killing began when her friends had not heard from her in days and reported her as missing to police in June 2018. According to testimony and other evidence, people who knew Mamer were aware there were “existing tensions between her and her roommate.”

On June 2, a day after Mamer was reported missing, a person went to the police and told investigators that Gonzales had killed someone, dismembered the body and hid the remains of the victim in a container in the basement.

Gonzales was then visited by San Francisco police, and when asked about her roommate’s whereabouts, she told officers that she helped Mamer move out on May 15, and she was now living in Eureka, the DA’s office said.

Police continued to investigate and launched a search of Gonzales’s home. Mamer’s remains were soon found in the basement. According to the DA, blood spatter was found in Gonzales’s bathroom, even after she cleaned the room with bleach.

Gonzales will serve the time in state prison.

“We continue to thank the jury for its service in this case,” said Jenkins. “The court’s sentence will ensure that Ms. Gonzales is held accountable for this heinous crime. While the victim’s family and friends had to wait far too long for this day to come, we are grateful for their trust in our office and the team on this case to deliver justice.”