The fish tank murder: How police failed to nab Brian Egg’s killers despite multiple welfare check calls

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: The murderer of Brian Egg remains at large six years after his mutilated body was found in his home, leaving neighbors and family puzzled as to why the police despite multiple welfare check calls, have not been able to apprehend the perpetrators. 

One month later after Brian was seen by his neighbors in May 2018, his brother Devin attempted to contact him but was unsuccessful. He later called again, and a man named Nate answered the call.

Nate informed Devin that Brian was out for a walk and would call back, but Brian never did, leading to suspicions that he had vanished.

Neighbors and family of Brian Egg called 911 several times 

Numerous neighbors voiced their concerns to the police. When the police showed up at Brian's house, nobody was home. The police, however, decided not to pursue the investigation. They surmised that Brian might have left town without telling anyone.

Brian's case was overlooked by the police, leading to neighbors searching for him on social media. Two strangers were found living as homeless in Brian's house.

Once again, the neighbors called the police so they could look into the matter.

The police department acted indifferently. Brian's sister became suspicious when she realized that he hadn't spoken to any of his family members in months. She called the police.

And the police came to Brian's house on August 4, 2018, to look into matters. But nobody came to answer the door. Neighbors reported seeing what seemed to be a thorough cleaning at Brian's house after the police had left.

Along with bubbles of soap coming from Brian's door, the house smelled strongly of bleach, Abc7 reported. It was observed that the strangers who were residing in Brian's home were painting a section of the interior in an attempt to hide something.

Brian's sister submitted a missing person's report on August 7, 2018. After a week, Brian's neighbors informed the police that a crime scene cleanup company had been stationed outside his house for a while.   

Suspects arrested in relation to Brian Egg's killing

After considering the report, the police searched Brian's house. Robert McCaffrey, one of the strange men who had been residing there for nearly two months, was taken into custody on August 16, 2018, SFIST's report stated.

Lance Silva, the other stranger, was found and taken into custody two days later.

On June 1, 2018, the two men were accused of financial crimes and ID theft. Brian's credit cards had been used by strangers even for the purchase of a 2007 BMW for $5,500, the outlet reported.

After a thorough search of Brian's home, police found a storage room beneath a staircase four days later.

Police discovered a hidden fish tank inside the room. Additionally, the police discovered a beheaded body's torso inside the fish tank. Later on, it was determined to be Brian's mutilated body.

The two strange men were accused of killing Brian after it was determined that his death was a homicide. But later on, all of the charges against McCaffrey and Silva were dropped by the San Francisco District Attorney's office.

Both men remain free as of now. It was never discovered that Brian had been killed. According to the police, they are still working to gather sufficient proof to file charges.

Brian Egg's home was sold for $1.5M in 2019

Even though he was released from custody on April 25, 2019, police said that suspect Michael Silva, 40, is still a "person of interest" in the case. Silva was allegedly using Egg's credit cards to order a crime scene cleanup crew and to purchase a used BMW, abc7's other report suggested.

“Investigators need probable cause to make an arrest and they are working diligently to build a prosecutable case,” said Sgt Michael Andraychak in a statement, according to The Guardian.

Andraychak added, “It has been a long investigation with a number of leads to investigate. We are making headway and are confident that an arrest will be made.”

In 1976, Egg paid $19,000 to purchase his house. Shahram Bijan of Sonoma purchased the house in May 2019 from his estate for $1.5 million, Bay Area Reporter and The Guardian stated.

The upcoming episodes of 'Unsolved', the Fox Nation real crime series hosted by James Patterson, will delve into Egg's murder.