Police Identify Body Of 22-Year-Old Netflix Software Engineer, Recovered From San Francisco Bay

The remains found in San Francisco Bay last month were identified on Wednesday, September 6, as 22-year-old Netflix software engineer Yohanes Stefanos Kidane.

According to authorities, Kidane’s remains were found by a boater northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay around noon on August 29. The Marin County Sheriff’s Offices disclosed that the body was recovered by the Coast Guard and was pronounced dead soon after that. Identifying the body was not immediate as Kidane’s body “exhibited signs of advanced decomposition, prolonged exposure to the aquatic environment and appreciable depredation.”

The forensic examination conducted early this month determined Kidane’s cause of death “to be from blunt impact injuries with drowning as a significant contributing condition. The mode of death was determined to be suicide.”

Prior to his passing, Kidane was living in San Jose and working as a Netflix engineer. He had recently graduated from Cornell University with a degree in computer science.

The vice president of relations at Cornell University expressed her condolences following Kidane’s passing. She said,  “We are devastated by the tragic nature of his passing, and we encourage all who knew him on campus to seek help as they struggle with this loss. Our deepest condolences go to Yohanes’ family and friends.”

A Netflix spokesperson additionally released a statement from the company, saying, “We are saddened by the loss of a young and brilliant coworker. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to Yohanes’ family and friends.”