Woman found slain in recycling bin in E. Oakland

Police say city's fifth homicide of 2003 was a suspected prostitute from Lafayette
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - OAKLAND -- A suspected high-priced prostitute featured in magazine pictorials was found shot to death Monday morning in East Oakland, almost 12 hours after her bloody sport utility vehicle was spotted a few miles away, police said.

The fully-clothed body of Marisa Zaras, 31, of Lafayette, who police said was the mother of a young boy, was discovered about 7:45 a.m. inside a recycling bin in the 10000 block of Empire Road. That site is in an isolated area of Brookfield Village, just a few blocks from the San Leandro border.

Her blood-stained 2002 GMC Yukon had been found about 8:30 p.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of 82nd Avenue.

After learning Zaras was the registered owner of the Yukon and where she lived, Oakland police asked Lafayette officers to go to her home to see whether she was there, said Oakland police Sgt. Bruce Brock.Missing person

After being told by relatives Zaras had not been seen since Saturday, a missing person's report was filed, police said.

Lafayette police referred all inquiries to Oakland police.

Brock said Zaras had been dead for several hours before she was found.

Police are unsure of the motive for the killing but have not ruled out she was killed as a result of her suspected profession.

Police said based on evidence they have, Zaras was "known to work as an escort prostitute and known to frequent Oakland."

Police said she appeared to work on her own and advertised in such publications as Spectator. They are not sure how much she charged for her services, but believe it was easily hundreds of dollars per customer.

One source said, "She made big bank."$4,000-a-month rent?

Another source said she may have been paying $4,000 a month to rent her Lafayette residence.

Zaras has been featured in some explicit adult magazines, including one in 2001 in which she was the subject of an interview and 3-page nude photo spread.

In the interview, she used the name Kristy, said she was born in Detroit and claimed at the time she was living in San Francisco. She said then her professions were model and "adult entertainer," and she enjoyed "swimming, laying in the sun, football and basketball."

The killing was the city's fifth homicide of the year.

Crime Stoppers of Oakland is offering up to $1,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 238-6946.



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