Student Is Found Slain on UC Berkeley Campus

A 20-year-old UC Berkeley student from Agoura Hills was found stabbed to death in the campus office of a student organization where she frequently studied, university police said Saturday.

Grace Rualo Asuncion, a junior majoring in molecular and cell biology, was found dead about 9:20 p.m. Friday after she had been stabbed several times in the upper body with a sharp object, said Lt. Pat Carroll of the campus police.

A custodian found Asuncion’s body in Eshleman Hall, a building that houses student government offices and student organizations, said UC Berkeley spokesman Jesus Mena.

There are no suspects and no motive for the killing, Carroll said, and there were no signs of a struggle.

“There’s nothing to indicate it was a sexual assault or a robbery,” Carroll said. “There’s nothing missing that you would expect to be missing in a robbery.”

Asuncion’s body was found in the fifth-floor office of the Pilipino American Alliance, Mena said. She was an officer of the group.

Students told police that Asuncion was last seen in the office around 5 p.m.

“She often studied there alone or with friends,” Carroll said. “So it’s not unusual for her to be there at that time.”

After receiving the call Friday, police closed and searched the eight-story building and area, which includes Sproul Plaza and the wooded area near Strawberry Creek, Carroll said. On Saturday, they looked in trash cans and under benches for the murder weapon.

Students contacted at Eshleman, the focal point for many campus clubs and student-run activities, said the slaying made many feel nervous.

Members of the Pilipino American Alliance, who all asked not to be named, said Asuncion was an extremely friendly person deeply involved in programs to help keep Filipinos from dropping out of the university.

“I’m still shocked by the whole thing,” said one club member, a senior in economics. “Last time I saw her she was setting up a tutoring program for undergraduate students.”

The last student slaying on campus happened in 1975. A student was killed in a domestic dispute in student housing in 1980, Carroll said. Two bodies were found on campus property in 1991, but in neither case did the victim have a connection to UC Berkeley.

But campus safety in Berkeley has become an issue. Four students have been raped on school property in the past two years and another student was killed in September, 1990, when a gunman took over an off-campus bar frequented by students.

“I was really comfortable on campus until last year,” said Martha Martinez, a junior majoring in Spanish who works in one of the stores next to Eshleman Hall. “I used to walk by myself. Now I try not to be here at night.”