A San Francisco sex worker has been found guilty of manslaughter in the shocking killing of a customer at Crissy Field.
The body of Hamza Walupupu, 32, was found by dog walkers in the Crissy Field parking lot on Nov. 12, 2023. Walupupu had been shot through the eye, and bloody tire marks were found leading away from the body, according to a criminal complaint previously seen by SFGATE.
Yesterday, after a 2-week federal jury trial, Leniyah Butler, 21, was found guilty of manslaughter, but acquitted of murder in the second degree, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Butler, a San Francisco sex worker, had been approached by Walupupu in his car earlier that day. After discussing a price and requesting to do "everything," Walupupu drove Butler across the city, prosecutors said. When they stopped at an ATM, Butler allegedly suggested pulling over, but Walupupu instead kept driving for 20 minutes to Crissy Field - the tourist destination that looks over the Golden Gate Bridge on the northern shore of the city.
Butler said she felt like she was taken "out of her element," being so far from where she was picked up, according to court documents. After performing a sex act on the Walupupu, Butler reportedly told him she was transgender. Court documents said Walupupu then demanded his money back and an argument ensued, resulting in Butler shooting the man with a gun kept in her purse.
Butler then dragged the body out into the parking lot and drove Walupupu's vehicle to Kiska Road in Hunters Point while calling her mother for help, court documents said.
At Kiska Road, where the car was later found by authorities after being double parked for three days, Butler allegedly disposed of the man's belongings, wiped down the car and gave the gun to an unnamed person. A week later, as FBI agents raided Butler's home in the Excelsior, she fled by jumping from a second-story window before being arrested in a neighbor's garage.
"We extend our sincere condolences to the victim's family, whose son and brother was taken from them prematurely, and hope today's verdict brings some measure of justice," acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said in a statement. "We commend the swift actions of the FBI agents, who promptly and thoroughly investigated this case from the moment the victim's body was found in the Presidio."
Butler is being held in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27, 2025.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
The body of Hamza Walupupu, 32, was found by dog walkers in the Crissy Field parking lot on Nov. 12, 2023. Walupupu had been shot through the eye, and bloody tire marks were found leading away from the body, according to a criminal complaint previously seen by SFGATE.
Yesterday, after a 2-week federal jury trial, Leniyah Butler, 21, was found guilty of manslaughter, but acquitted of murder in the second degree, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Butler, a San Francisco sex worker, had been approached by Walupupu in his car earlier that day. After discussing a price and requesting to do "everything," Walupupu drove Butler across the city, prosecutors said. When they stopped at an ATM, Butler allegedly suggested pulling over, but Walupupu instead kept driving for 20 minutes to Crissy Field - the tourist destination that looks over the Golden Gate Bridge on the northern shore of the city.
Butler said she felt like she was taken "out of her element," being so far from where she was picked up, according to court documents. After performing a sex act on the Walupupu, Butler reportedly told him she was transgender. Court documents said Walupupu then demanded his money back and an argument ensued, resulting in Butler shooting the man with a gun kept in her purse.
Butler then dragged the body out into the parking lot and drove Walupupu's vehicle to Kiska Road in Hunters Point while calling her mother for help, court documents said.
At Kiska Road, where the car was later found by authorities after being double parked for three days, Butler allegedly disposed of the man's belongings, wiped down the car and gave the gun to an unnamed person. A week later, as FBI agents raided Butler's home in the Excelsior, she fled by jumping from a second-story window before being arrested in a neighbor's garage.
"We extend our sincere condolences to the victim's family, whose son and brother was taken from them prematurely, and hope today's verdict brings some measure of justice," acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said in a statement. "We commend the swift actions of the FBI agents, who promptly and thoroughly investigated this case from the moment the victim's body was found in the Presidio."
Butler is being held in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27, 2025.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
