MARTINEZ — Benjamin Merrill was walking home in San Francisco's Mission District about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 3 when he was stopped by two women from Contra Costa County who asked for directions.

In the course of the conversation, the 22-year-old waiter originally from the Seattle area agreed to go for drinks with the women. They drove him to Pittsburg, picked up a friend and then took him to Marina Walk Park, where they robbed and fatally shot him, Pittsburg police Lt. Brian Addington said Wednesday.

Teareney Brown, 20, of Richmond, and Kiarra Price, 20, of Pittsburg, were charged Wednesday with murder and robbery in connection with Merrill's death. An arrest warrant on the same charges has been issued for Kendra Fells, 21, of Pittsburg.

Hours before he met Brown and Price in San Francisco, Merrill was supposed to meet another woman for a date at a restaurant, but she never appeared. That woman has been cleared of any suspicion related to the killing.

Merrill was with Brown and Price when they picked up Fells in Pittsburg. Once all four were at the park, about 3 a.m., the women robbed Merrill of his iPhone and possibly his wallet, Addington said. Police say Price likely fired the fatal shot.

Since Merrill's wallet was missing and he had no criminal record, police at first had difficulty identifying his body. They confirmed his identity a few days later after his uncle spotted a sketch posted at the San Mateo County courthouse

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of the unidentified "John Doe," one of many distributed by investigators.

It was the use of Merrill's cell phone that led police to the suspects. Price had an outstanding warrant stemming from an unrelated drug case. Brown was wanted for on suspicion of vehicle theft in Alameda County, according to County Jail records.

Merrill's father said Wednesday that he was grateful to investigators who turned what initially seemed like a mystery into a prosecutable case.

"I have the greatest respect for these detectives," said Peter Merrill, of Belfair, Wash. "How they solved it is somewhat of a miracle to me."

He said he is still processing how his son died, and his feelings about the suspects.

"Ben was a wonderful kid," he said, "and somehow ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. We're not ever going to forget him."

Staff writer Robert Salonga contributed to this story.