Headless and Handless Body Found in San Francisco Fish Tank Finally Identified

San Francisco police have confirmed that the headless body found in August in a house's fish tank is that of homeowner Brian Egg.

Police said the torso, which had no head or hands, belonged to the 65-year-old, whose family first reported him missing two months ago, CBS San Francisco reported.

Police have been criticized for their handling of the missing person case after the victim's family contacted the department in late July to say they had not seen him for some time.

At the time, officers went to Egg's house on Clara Street but received no response and saw no suspicious circumstances, the police said in a statement.

On August 7, a missing person investigation was started by police after a member of Egg's family reported him missing. Again, officers went to his address and knocked at his door, but got no response.

"People have a right to their privacy," Commander Greg McEachern told reporters in August when asked about the checks carried out by the officers. "We don't just break doors down to look for individuals unless there is other information that may determine that the person either is dead or that there might be other suspicious activity."

On August 14, Egg's neighbors called 911 to report a suspicious person who was outside his home. When police arrived at the scene, officers gained entrance to the house.

They did not discover Egg's body, but did find evidence of illegal activity, including cleaning products and "suspicious odors."

On August 15, the police's Homicide Detail took over the investigation, and a search warrant was authorized for Egg's home. While searching the location, detectives found his remains inside a fish tank in an obscured area of the house.

As part of the investigation, Lance Silva, 39, and Robert McCaffrey, 52, were arrested on suspicion of homicide, fraud, theft, identity theft and elder abuse charges. These charges were later dropped by the district attorney's office pending further investigation. Silva remains in custody at the Alameda County jail for a probation violation.

Silva was accused of using Egg's stolen credit card to purchase a 2007 BMW 750 on June 1, as well as hiring a crime scene cleanup company to come to Egg's home.

McEachern admitted police might not have found Egg's body if the neighbors hadn't contacted them about the suspicious crime scene truck.

"We might not, that's correct," McEachern said at a press conference. "And that's where you usually rely on family or someone to let you into the place."

San Francisco Police Commissioner Petra DeJesus previously said she is planning to ask Chief Bill Scott why officers did not do more than knock when they went to the house on three occasions.

"A wellness check has to be followed up on," she said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "What if someone is in there and has a broken hip and can't get up? There has to be a different standard. Neighbors were raising red flags for a couple months."