Rodney Curiel, 34, was found dead on January 11, 2010, in his room at the Mission Hotel on South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco’s Mission District. The hotel manager discovered the body during a routine pest control inspection around 10 a.m. An autopsy led the San Francisco Police Department to classify the death as a homicide, with possible strangulation listed as the cause.

Curiel had been staying at the Mission Hotel for roughly three to eight months before his death. Police did not immediately identify suspects or a motive and said they were reviewing hotel surveillance footage for leads. The hotel and surrounding residential hotels have drawn concern from residents about safety due to other suspicious incidents in the area.

Friends and family remember Curiel as kind and joyful and hope the investigation will bring justice and closure. If anyone has information about Rodney, the circumstances of that morning, or the Mission Hotel around January 11, 2010, please come forward.