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Authorities have identified the woman found killed in a California Street apartment on Saturday as Vanessa Lynn Sanchez, a college admissions administrator who grew up in Connecticut before moving to the Bay Area.
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Sanchez, 37, “loved fiercely and wholeheartedly,” according to an obituary from her family. “She had an extraordinary gift for making people feel seen, valued, loved and deeply cared for.”
Sanchez was born in Hartford, in central Connecticut, and grew up in nearby South Windsor. She went to Eastern Connecticut State University and then Sacred Heart University, also in Connecticut. She moved to Berkeley eight years ago, in 2018, according to the obituary, and went to work at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, a role she left in 2024.
In November 2022, the same month she turned 34, Sanchez was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2023 she learned that the cancer had already metastasized to her bones. She chronicled some milestones in her treatment on social media, including the decision to have a double mastectomy, posting a “tribute to mis pechos” the day before they were removed.
“She fought hard, with bravery and grace,” her family wrote in her obituary. “While our hearts are devastated beyond measure, we are also profoundly grateful for the gift of having Vanessa in our lives. Her remarkable personality, incredible talents, courage, and determination inspired so many. Through every challenge and curveball life placed in her path, she met it all with great strength, resilience, and grace.”
It is unclear precisely when Sanchez met Damarcus David Jones, the 28-year-old Berkeley man charged on Thursday with murdering her and whom police described as her boyfriend. Jones has a history of violence in Berkeley; he was convicted of felony assault in November 2025, according to court records.
The last time anyone saw Sanchez alive was May 24, according to court records. Surveillance cameras at her building showed her entering her unit with Jones, police said. According to the criminal complaint against Jones, he killed Sanchez two days later, on May 26, and then attempted to conceal it from her neighbors.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office’s Coroner’s Bureau is conducting a death investigation. Berkeley detectives arrested Jones Tuesday in Dixon. He has been in custody without bail since his arrest. He was initially scheduled for arraignment Thursday, but that was rescheduled once until Friday and then a second time until Monday, according to court records.
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Alex N. Gecan joined Berkeleyside in 2023 as a senior reporter covering public safety. He has covered criminal justice, courts and breaking and local news for The Middletown Press, Stamford Advocate and… More by Alex N. Gecan
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