Body found on Sonoma State University campus is missing Cotati man

A body discovered Wednesday on the campus of Sonoma State University is that of a missing Cotati man, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office confirmed late Thursday night.

Kirk Kimberly, 18, was reported missing Oct. 17, and his death is being investigated as a homicide, the Sheriff's Office confirmed in a news release. His family has been notified of his death.

Kimberly had last been seen leaving Cotati on his bicycle to meet a friend in Rohnert Park, according to a missing person's alert from the Cotati Police Department on the day of his disappearance.

Thursday afternoon, a group of Sonoma State University students, one of them holding her hand over her mouth, watched from the edge of a campus parking lot as Sonoma County sheriff's detectives in white overalls emerged from a wooded area of brush and oak, carrying Kimberly's body on a stretcher.

Encased in a semi-rigid black body bag, the body was exhumed from a shallow grave in a small grove of oak trees about 100 yards to the west of Sonoma State's parking lot M.

It was discovered shortly after noon on Wednesday by a university landscaper who spotted part of the head of the mostly buried body, sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

Crum said Kimberly's body was caked in mud, shortly after it was placed in a county coroner's van around 4 p.m.

The homicide is the eighth in Sonoma County this year.

Throughout the day Thursday, students visited the edge of the parking lot, which was cordoned off with yellow tape to prevent people from entering the crime scene. Some said they were curious.

Others said the discovery had jarred the sense of safety and security on the campus of just over 9,000 students.

“I've never felt threatened, but this makes me feel more scared and aware of my surroundings,” said Indigo Davis, a 19-year-old sophomore who lives on campus.

Davis, who is studying early childhood development, said she was just looking for information and to see if the discovery was “real.”

The landscape worker who found Kimberly's body was clearing brush near a creek down a path leading from the parking lot, which is used daily by students and by visitors attending performances at the Green Music Center directly to the east.

Before the body was removed, crime scene technicians photographed and examined the area while another team of detectives reviewed missing person reports looking for cases that might provide leads, Crum said.

A forensic pathologist began exhuming the body at about 1 p.m.

“They're going to go through the process of unearthing the body and examining it for trace evidence that might be used in a criminal case,” Crum said.

The noise of a sheriff's helicopter led political science professor Diane Parness to pause class and step outside Stevenson Hall.

“It has everyone on edge and wondering what it was about,” Parness said of the discovery.

The university alerted the campus of the investigation in an email Wednesday. Sociology student Natalie Lewis said she saw a few campus police officers in the area when she parked her car before class about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The area was cordoned off and swarming with sheriff's vehicles by the time she returned several hours later.

Lewis, 37, said the parking lot is convenient but feels secluded because of its surroundings, open space with brush and groves of trees. She never parks there at night.

“It's terrifying and also incredibly sad,” Lewis said.

Parness said she is reminding her students to be mindful of their safety on campus, particularly at night, noting a sexual assault reported at the Green Music Center in September.

“We are always concerned about public safety,” she said. “This will aggravate that.”

Sonoma State police took the initial report but handed the case to the Sheriff's Office. Crum said the sheriff's team has specialized detectives who are better qualified to handle the investigation.

Up until the body was removed, detectives were careful not to disturb or alter its condition.

They refrained from examining the man's pockets to determine if he had any identification, waiting until the body was in a sterile environment at the coroner's lab, Crum said.

Staff Writer Martin Espinoza can be reached at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish. Staff Writer Julie Johnson can be reached at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.