Mission Terrace Neighbor Witnesses Murder, Passes on Snitchin'

The Chronicle headline in todays paper pretty much sums it up: Body Lay Undiscovered in SF Police Impound Yard While Suspects Fled. The bizarre case of the murder of Leonard Milo Hoskins reads like the plot of a Coen brothers movie. The computer software developer was clubbed in his yard near SF City College by one of roommates with a two-by-four. Then he was dragged back into his house. Then his murderer exited the premises with visible splotches of blood on his person. The kicker? The neighbor was watching the whole time. Why didn't the neighbor call the cops? He doesn't like them. For future reference: a healthy distrust of the cops is not inadvisable, but in cases where people have been clubbed with two-by-fours, seriously consider dialing 911. Hoskins' corpse was hidden in a van which was later impounded by the SFPD. The police failed to obtain a search warrant for a week, which is apparently about how long it takes a corpse to decompose to the point where a cadaver dog can smell it and alert its overseers to its existence. It's good to know the SFPD has some hardworking, motivated cadaver dogs at its disposal. — Andy Wright