Inset: Lisa Gonzales in court. Background: The San Francisco home where Lisa Gonzales butchered her roommate Margaret Mamer because she wouldn't move out or pay rent (KNTV).
A California woman is headed to prison for butchering her roommate with a knife and hacksaw after proclaiming, "I'll do it my way," about evicting the victim for not paying rent.
Lisa Gonzales, 55, was sentenced this week to 31 years in prison after being convicted by a San Francisco jury of second-degree murder by use of a deadly weapon.
Her "heinous" killing of roommate Margaret Mamer, 61, in 2018 came after Gonzales complained about Mamer refusing to move out of their apartment after not paying rent, according to prosecutors.
"The victim was reported missing on June 1, 2018, by friends who had not heard from her for several days and were aware of existing tensions between her and her roommate, Ms. Gonzales," the San Francisco District Attorney's Office said Monday in a press release. "On June 2, a concerned citizen went to the police to report that Ms. Gonzales had murdered someone, dismembered the body, and attempted to conceal what she had done by placing the dismembered body in a container in her basement."
A third roommate told investigators that in mid-April 2018, Gonzales gave Mamer 30 days' notice to move out.
On May 15, 2018, the third roommate came home from work during her lunch hour and Gonzales told her not to go into the bathroom. Later that same day, when the roommate came home, she noticed a "metallic smell" throughout the apartment.
"Shortly thereafter, she heard sawing noises coming from the bathroom, which lasted for four hours," the DA's office reported in an April 2026 press release announcing Gonzales' conviction. "The next morning, Ms. Gonzales was still in the bathroom. When the third roommate got home that night, the bathroom door was open, and the apartment smelled of vinegar and bleach."
The roommate told cops that a blue container that once held her dirty clothes was missing. "She observed a hacksaw under the sink in the laundry room," the DA's office said.
When the roommate asked where Mamer had gone, Gonzales told her that she had left "but not the way she wanted to," according to prosecutors.
Police went to Gonzales' home and found large plastic bags "stacked on top of one another" inside a "maggot-filled plastic container," according to court documents. Inside the bags were the "rotting remnants" of Mamer, which had been "chopped/sawed up."
Investigators processed the apartment bathroom for evidence and found "blood spatter all over the scene," per the DA's office. An autopsy later revealed that Mamer died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries to her head and heart, including multiple stab wounds to her face and skull.
"After Ms. Gonzales killed the victim, she proceeded to dismember her to conceal what she had just done," the DA's office reported. "The victim's body remained in the blue container in the storage unit until June 2, 2018, when SFPD officers responded to the 14th Street residence."
Prosecutors said that before murdering Mamer, Gonzales was presented with options and legal ways to evict her. "No thanks, I'll do it my way," she told her co-workers, according to the DA's office.
"This was a deeply disturbing and heartbreaking case, and I want to thank the jurors for their careful attention to the difficult evidence and their commitment to justice," said Assistant District Attorney Melissa Demetral in a statement earlier this year after Gonzales' conviction was announced.
On Monday, DA Brooke Jenkins said, "The court's sentence will ensure that Ms. Gonzales is held accountable for this heinous crime. While the victim's family and friends had to wait far too long for this day to come, we are grateful for their trust in our office and the team on this case to deliver justice."
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