Tina Gatlin, 45

Tina Marie Gatlin, 45, a black woman, was found shot to death in a car in the 11000 block of Vista Del Mar between the empty land owned by LAX and Dockweiler State beach at about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11.

Two police officers driving by noticed her car parked on the roadside. They stopped to tell the driver to move the car, and found Gatlin dead, in the driver's seat, shot perhaps 30 minutes before.

Gatlin was a professional manager and a mother of three--one grown child and two minors. She was single, and lived in Watts--"a nice lady who never even got a traffic ticket," said Det. Mike DePasquale of LAPD's Pacific Division. She worked at a relatively high post in the local management ranks of Food-4-Less, roving from store to store.