Body of missing 28-year-old woman found in hidden attic, California cops say

Officers searching a home for a missing woman for a second time found her body hidden inside a concealed attic, California police reported.

Officers had earlier searched the home for Renia Lewis, 28, of Vallejo, who had been reported missing Sunday, Sept. 28, but could not find her, Vallejo police said in a Tuesday, Sept. 30, news release.

After an investigation led them back to the home, officers returned with a search warrant and uncovered the hidden attic with her body inside, police said.

“What did she do to you for you to kill her, and then put her in a wall?” Teri Lewis, the woman’s mother, told KTVU. “And she’s been gone since Friday so we were out here looking for my daughter and she’s in the wall — dead.”

Investigators arrested Douglas Irwin Shaw, 41, of Vallejo, on a charge of murder, police said. Shaw told officers in a statement that he was responsible for the crime, police said.

“This was a heartbreaking, senseless act of violence that has no place in our community. I am proud of our officers and detectives for making an arrest and solving this case,” Police Chief Jason Ta said in the release.

“I just prayed, ‘God please don’t let it be her, please don’t let it be.’ And he didn’t answer my prayer,” Teri Lewis told KTVU.

Police ask anyone with information to contact Detective Zach Horton at 707-648-5425 or Zach.Horton@cityofvallejo.net or Detective William Carpenter at 707-651-7146 or William.Carpenter@cityofvallejo.net.

Vallejo is about a 60-mile drive southwest from Sacramento.