Police are investigating the death of a 23-year-old SF State student who died at a residential hotel in the Mission District early Sunday morning.
Jesse Stanton, the clerk of the medical examiner, confirmed that the body was of San Francisco resident Melanie Olivieri, who died at the scene at 6:53 a.m.
Olivieri attended SF State as a visual communication design student and was enrolled for the upcoming term, according to Adrianne Bee, SF State’s interim associate vice president.
Albie Esparza, San Francisco Police Department’s Public Information Officer, said police responded to a report of a suspicious death on the 1300 block of Utah Street in the Mission District. A male known to the victim made the initial call to police to report the incident, Esparza said. The death has been deemed suspicious and is pending autopsy results from the medical examiner, according to Esparza.
Information on the official cause of death has not yet been released, Stanton said.
“I won’t be able to tell anything related to that until our case closes, which may take a month or more,” Stanton said.
Dean of Students and Interim Associate Vice President of SF State, Mary Ann Begley, issued a statement on behalf of the school.
“The SF State community was saddened to hear of the passing of Melanie Olivieri, a visual communications major at SF State,” Begley said. “On behalf of the entire community, we offer our deepest sympathies to Melanie’s family and friends. We all handle grief and loss in different ways so we ask everyone in our community to offer support to those who may need it at this most difficult time.”
Begley said counselors are available in the Counseling and Psychological Services Center for students who want to talk. Appointments can be made by calling 415-338-2208 or in person at room 208 of the Student Services Building.
Anyone interested in hosting a memorial on campus to honor Olivieri can contact the dean of students, Begley said. The dean of students’ office can be reached at [email protected] or 415-338-2032.
