Five weeks after the naked body of SF State student John Schirra, 22 was found in an empty lot with multiple stab wounds, the SF Medical Examiner has ruled the death accidental.

Schirra, an SF State Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts major known to many as Daniel, died on Sept. 3, of “blunt trauma to the head,” possibly caused by the effects associated with the presence of the hallucinogenic drug LSD, which was found in Schirra’s system, Dewayne Tully of the SFPD Public Affairs Office said Tuesday.

Tully said that SFPD homicide detectives “believe there was no foul play.”

“It is quite possible that the wounds were self-inflicted,” Tully said.

SF State criminal justice professor Ken Walsh said that the stab wounds could have been superficial-shallow enough to not be the cause of death.

As for the likelihood that Schirra inflicted his own wounds, Walsh said that it is characteristic of “someone that goes into psychosis and stabs themselves.”

But, he said, “That’s just one investigative scenario… [The SFPD] ought to be able to explain the accidental part more.”

Initially, the public evidence suggested a brutal murder, which compelled Schirra’s good friend and SF State alumni Tim Sandburg to request that “the SF State community… warn the (college) kids how dangerous the Oceanview-Ingleside area is.”

In 2005, Schirra moved to San Francisco, joining Sandburg and other good friends, to study audio production.

In an autobiography project for school, Schirra wrote, “My ideal job after college is to open a studio to record bands that I like.” He wrote that he hoped to start various music projects to make money on the side while his greater goal grew to fruition.

The San Francisco County Coroner’s Office has not yet concluded the cause of death.
“The police may have concluded their examination, but ours is still ongoing,” said Nina Fiore from the coroner’s office.