A 72-year-old woman who was stabbed in Berkeley in September has died after nearly three weeks in medical care, according to authorities.
Nancy Jo McClellan of Emeryville died Wednesday at approximately 2:30 a.m., said Berkeley Police Capt. Andrew Greenwood.
She was in the ICU following the stabbing in South Berkeley, and died in the care facility where she had recently been moved. This past weekend, her family decided to take her off life support when she failed to recover from the attack, according to community members familiar with the case.
Police will now seek murder charges against Kamau Berlin, the 18-year-old Richmond man authorities say was responsible for McClellan’s death. It is the second homicide in Berkeley this year.
“Our investigators are in touch with the district attorney’s office,” Greenwood said. “We will do what we need to do to get more charges.”
Berlin was arrested by police the day of the stabbing, Sept. 19.
This news first appeared on Berkeleyside and has been reprinted here with permission.
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2011 Kamau Berlin photograph source: Facebook →
The Berkeley PD Press Release:
This morning the City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) was notified that Nancy McClellan, 72 years old, of Emeryville passed away. McClellen was the victim of a stabbing and attempted carjacking that took place on September 19, 2014.
On Friday, September 19th at approximately 4:40 p.m., BPD received a report of a disturbance with a woman yelling for help near the intersection of Russell Street and Otis Street. BPD Officers arrived within minutes of the call and located and detained a suspect. Other officers located McClellan, suffering from severe injuries, it was determined she had been stabbed several times. She was transported to a local hospital with life threatening injuries. The suspect, Kamau Berlin, was arrested for attempted murder and attempted carjacking.
On Tuesday, October 7, 2014 McClellen was transferred from the hospital to a care facility in Berkeley. Early this morning, BPD was notified that McClellen passed away.
The Alameda County Coroner’s Office will be conducting an autopsy, and will determine her cause of death.
BPD Investigators are working with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to amend charges appropriately.
