Art student found dead hanging from a tree in 1985 in Concord: suicide or murder?

Death of Promising Bay Area Art Student 39 Years Ago: Suicide or Murder?

A 23-year-old art student from Berkeley was found hanging from a tree outside the Concord Bart station on November 2, 1985. Authorities ruled it a suicide. Now, 39 years later, his family still has many unanswered questions. They say he was gay, black and Native American and that he may have been the victim of murder. Family members are trying to get the case reopened.

CONCORD, California. – An East Bay family’s search for answers surrounding the death of a young art student has lasted nearly four decades.

Saturday, November 2, 2024 marked 39 years since Timothy Charles Lee of Berkeley was found hanging from a tree near the Concord BART station. His death was ruled a suicide.

Family members said it was a murder and wanted the case reopened.

Frank Sterling Jr., Lee’s cousin, said he was only 11 when the art student died.

Sterling said he started working on reopening the case a few years ago when he heard there was still community interest in what happened and the family wanted answers.

“A friend of mine took this picture of Timmy,” Sterling said, pointing to a drawing he planned to take with him for the memorial walk and vigil he had planned for the anniversary of Lee’s death.

“It was very suspicious. They destroyed the evidence within 24 hours. The community took action and had an FBI investigation. But they just turned the investigation on its head,” Sterling said.

Family members said there is evidence pointing to a homicide.

Lee was a gay man who was black and Native American.

Authorities said they found a suicide note at the scene, but the names of his siblings he addressed were misspelled.

There were questions about whether the handwriting was Lee’s.

When KTVU covered the case in 1986, Lee’s sister Tammy said her brother had just received a $2,000 scholarship to study fashion design in Milan.

“Very excited. It was like a dream come true. He finally got to take the trip he always wanted to take,” Tammy said at the time.

She has since died, but had said that if her brother wrote the note, he would have been forced to do so.

Two neighbors told KTVU at the time that they heard screams from the room where Lee was found hanging.

He had taken BART from San Francisco to get home to Berkeley, but fell asleep and ended up at the Concord BART station.

His family said he called a roommate to get a ride home, but the roommate was unable to help.

Lee was found dead hours later.

That same evening, two men describing themselves as members of the Ku Klux Klan stabbed two black men in Concord.

“I don’t think this was suicide. This boy had a future,” said his uncle Frank Sterling Sr.

He suspected that his cousin’s race and sexual orientation could be motives for his murder.

“Racism, homophobia, I think it’s a combination of all that. At the time, things were swept under the rug,” Sterling Sr. said.

The family wants the case to be reopened. And when it’s murder, they want justice.

“I feel like there is still time to hold these people accountable and the people who helped cover up this crime,” Sterling Jr. said.

He hoped to gather 500 signatures on a petition asking California Attorney General Rob Bonta to reopen the case.

Sterling Jr. also plans to speak with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

The march and vigil was held Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM at the Rainbow Community Center and ended at the Concord BART station.

Amber Lee is a reporter at KTVU. Email Amber at [email protected] or text/leave a message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU