SAN JOSE — Investigators reasserted Tuesday that a man’s death last week along Caltrain tracks near the Bellarmine College Preparatory campus is a likely suicide, rebuffing continued speculation that the grisly nature of the discovery suggested something more nefarious.
After the 60-year-old man’s body was found southeast of the College Park station Wednesday morning, school officials notified parents early on that transit police, which the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office oversees, were treating the discovery as a suicide.
But the appearance of the man, who reportedly had a bag or something similar covering his head and what looked like rope around his wrists, as attested by multiple witnesses — mostly Bellarmine students — spurred a chorus of skepticism among parents and other observers about the suicide contention.
Sheriff’s Detective Salvador Zuno did not directly address the details of the scene, but reaffirmed the initial findings and said there was “no evidence at the scene suggesting homicide.”
“If there was any suspicion of foul play or that this was a homicide, we would have notified the community immediately,” Zuno said. “We can’t make a declaration until the medical examiner’s report is complete, but we are leaning toward this being a suicide.”
The man has been identified by the Santa Clara County coroner’s office. This newspaper does not typically name people who commit suicide.
Anyone with information about the case can contact transit Detective Mike Baron at 650-622-8046.
Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow him at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.