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

Death of a promising Bay Area art student 39 years ago: suicide or homicide?

On November 2, 1985, the 23-year-old art student from Berkeley was found hanging from a tree in front of the Concord Bart Station. The authorities concluded it was suicide. Now, 39 years later, his family still has many unanswered questions. They say he was gay, black and Native American and may have been the victim of murder. Relatives are working to reopen the case.

CONCORD, California. – One East Bay family’s search for answers to the death of a young art student has spanned 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.

Relatives said it was a homicide and demanded that the case be reopened.

Frank Sterling Jr, Lee’s cousin, said he was just 11 years old at the time of the art student’s death.

Sterling said he began working to reopen the case several years ago when he learned the community was still interested in what happened and the family needed answers.

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

“It was very suspicious. They destroyed the evidence within 24 hours. The community stood up and launched an FBI investigation. But they just sealed the investigation,” Sterling said.

Family members said there was evidence pointing to murder.

Lee was gay, black and Native American.

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

Questions were raised as to 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.

“I’m very excited. It was like a dream come true. He finally got to go on the trip he always wanted to go on,” Tammy said at the time.

She has since died, but said that if her brother actually wrote the letter, he was forced to do so.

Two neighbors told KTVU at the time that they heard screams coming from the area where Lee was found hanged.

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

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

Lee was found dead several hours later.

That same night in Concord, two black men were stabbed by two men claiming to be members of the Ku Klux Klan.

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

He suspected that his nephew’s race and sexual orientation may have been the motive for killing him.

“Racism, homophobia – I think it’s a combination of all of that. Then it was all swept under the rug,” Sterling Sr. said.

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

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

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

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

The march and vigil took place Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Rainbow Community Center and ended at the Concord BART station.

Amber Lee is a reporter for 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