Iana Kasian, a 30-year-old Ukrainian woman, was found dead Thursday, May 26, in the 8500 block of Holloway Drive in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

About 11:30 a.m., authorities found Kasian’s mangled body in the apartment she shared with Blake Leibel, her boyfriend and the father of their 3-week-old daughter. 

Prosecutors said that Kasian was “tortured and mutilated” and that the “blood was drained from her body,” according to a news release from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. 

Leibel, a graphic novelist, screenwriter and son of a prominent developer in Toronto, also was inside the apartment and was taken into custody, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Coleman told The Times. He had barricaded himself inside by putting furniture and bedding against the door, and he seemed “agitated and uncooperative,” Coleman said. 

Leibel was ...

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Richard James, a 23-year-old black man, died early Wednesday, Oct. 14, after he was shot in the 8400 block of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

James was standing with a group of people in the patio outside the Comedy Store when a black male wearing a hooded sweatshirt began shooting, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Steve Jauch. 

Witnesses told KTLA-TV that at least six shots were fired. James was struck at least once in the upper torso and taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:36 a.m., according to coroner’s records. 

James was not a California resident, but Jauch said he couldn't say more about where James lived or why he was in Los Angeles out of fear that it could hurt the investigation. 

Jauch said investigators ...

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Eric Von Young, a 53-year-old black male, was found inside a vacant building that had been set on fire on Wednesday, May 20, in West Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles County coroner. 

Los Angeles County firefighters discovered Young about 11:30 p.m. after they extinguished a fire at 9080 Santa Monica Blvd., said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Jauch.

Young, a homeless man, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:06 a.m. on May 21. 

The coroner’s office has not released the cause of death, but Jauch said the fire at the building was deliberately set, and Young's death "appears to be related to a criminal fire." 

Deputies arrested Andrew Clark on suspicion of murder and arson on May 28, after interviewing him about Young's death. 

Clark, a 35-year-old white man, is also ...

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John Winkler, a 30-year-old white man, was mistakenly shot by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies Monday, April 7, in the 900 block of Palm Avenue in West Hollywood, according to sheriff’s officials.

About 9:30 p.m., deputies responded to a report of a man with a knife in an apartment complex, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

When deputies arrived, they were directed to an apartment where the knife-wielding man was said to be. Deputies were told that there were two men who lived in the apartment, and the man with the knife was white with a thin build and a black shirt.

A sergeant directed an entry team, along with deputies armed with “less than lethal” weapons. The team staged itself outside the front door of the apartment and announced themselves, but no one responded.

As deputies tried to ...

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Kurtland Ma, a 34-year-old Asian man, was stabbed to death Saturday, March 29, in the 900 block of Palm Avenue in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Deputies responded to an apartment to perform a welfare check and were told that the person who lived there may have killed his roommate and was thinking about killing himself, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies forced their way into the apartment after no response and found Ma on the kitchen floor with stab wounds, according to the news release.

Ma was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 6:53 p.m., said Ed Winter, a coroner's spokesman.

A black man was hiding in a bathroom and appeared to have taken a large amount of pills. The man, later identified as Andre Damiane Davids, 36, was taken to ...

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Alan Thomas, a 51-year-old black man, was shot and killed Sunday, May 20, near Knoll Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Thomas, a Metro bus driver, was on duty and leaving an MTA layover area about 9:10 a.m. when he was fatally shot, said MTA spokesman Rick Jager.

The alleged shooter, Anthony Craig Chambers, 41, was the lone passenger on the bus when the killing occurred, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.

Chambers was booked on suspicion of murder at the West Hollywood sheriff’s station and was being held in lieu of $1-million bail.

“We’re kind of in shock here,” said Jager. “When you lose a Metro family member, it affects everyone.”

A motive for the shooting remained unclear. Two weapons were recovered at the scene, authorities said.

Anyone with additional details about the incident ...

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Shahriar Moussazadeh, identified by the coroner as a 38-year-old white man, was shot to death Thursday, Aug. 26, in triple homicide West Hollywood, according to authorities.

Moussazadeh's younger brother, Pirooz, and Bernard Khalili, both 27, were also killed in what Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said appeared to be a botched robbery. Investigators said evidence suggests that the victims were selling marijuana out of the Kings Road apartment. They said the suspect was found with just a few pounds of stolen marijuana

“It was a drug deal that didn’t go well,” said Lt. Pat Nelson of the Sheriff’s Department homicide bureau. “He came for the drugs and decided he didn’t want to pay for them and took them by killing these three men.”

Harold Yong Park, 31, who is expected to be charged with three murders in the next day or so, allegedly went ...

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Bernard Khalili, identified by the coroner as a 27-year-old white man, was shot to death Thursday, Aug. 26, in triple homicide West Hollywood, according to authorities.

Two brothers, Shahriar and Pirooz Moussazadeh, ages 38 and 27, were also killed in what Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said appeared to be a botched robbery. Investigators said evidence suggests that the victims were selling marijuana out of the Kings Road apartment. They said the suspect was found with just a few pounds of stolen marijuana

“It was a drug deal that didn’t go well,” said Lt. Pat Nelson of the Sheriff’s Department homicide bureau. “He came for the drugs and decided he didn’t want to pay for them and took them by killing these three men.”

Harold Yong Park, 31, who is expected to be charged with three murders in the next day or so, allegedly went ...

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Pirooz Moussazadeh, identified by the coroner as a 27-year-old white man, was shot to death Thursday, Aug. 26, in triple homicide West Hollywood, according to authorities.

Moussazadeh's older brother, Shahriar, 38, and Bernard Khalili, 27, were also killed in what Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials said appeared to be a botched robbery. Investigators said evidence suggests that the victims were selling marijuana out of the Kings Road apartment. They said the suspect was found with just a few pounds of stolen marijuana

“It was a drug deal that didn’t go well,” said Lt. Pat Nelson of the Sheriff’s Department homicide bureau. “He came for the drugs and decided he didn’t want to pay for them and took them by killing these three men.”

Harold Yong Park, 31, who is expected to be charged with three murders in the next day or so, allegedly went ...

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Gabriel Camaro, a 43-year-old Latino, died Monday, July 19, in the 8700 block of Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

[For the record: An earlier version of this post, based on the initial information from authorities, identified the shooting victim as Luis Camargo and no age was originally given. Ed Winter, spokesman for the coroner's office, said they were able to determine Camaro's true identity through fingerprints.]

Camaro was shot about 2:10 a.m. outside Guys & Dolls, a popular nightclub, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Cmdr. James Lopez.

An argument broke out between two groups as the club was closing, and shots were fired between two cars, Lopez said.

Camaro, who was working at the valet parking stand, was killed in the crossfire, Lopez said.

Part of the incident was caught on video by a camera person working ...

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Vera Matusevich, a 73-year-old white woman, was fatally shot Wednesday, March 31, in the 800 block of North Kings Road in West Hollywood, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies responded to a report of someone screaming from an apartment, said Deputy Byron Ward.

Authorities found Matusevich with a gunshot wound. She was believed to be a resident of the apartment, Ward said.

After searching the apartment, deputies found an 84-year-old male suffering from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Ward said.

The weapon was recovered at the scene. At the time of the incident, Ward said, it was unclear what the relationship was between the man and Matusevich.

They were taken to a hospital, where Matusevich and the man died.

On April 1, investigators identified Matusevich and the man as husband and wife. Officials said all indications pointed to the incident being a murder-suicide ...

Lisa La Pierre, a 42-year-old white woman, died in a hospital Monday, Jan. 18, more than 15 years after she was shot at Santa Monica Boulevard and Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's officials.

Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner's office, said coroner's investigators have not completed La Pierre's autopsy. Winter said she was shot July 11, 1994, but he had no other information about the incident.

Her death was listed as a homicide.

[Note: After initially listing La Pierre's death as a homicide, coroner's officials deferred a final determination pending additional tests. By February, they determined she died from acute pneumonia as a result of her quadriplegia and confirmed the death as a homicide.]

-- Anthony Pesce

The following is a short story on the shooting that ran in The Times on July 14, 1994:  Gunman Injures ...

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A 40-year-old black man was stabbed to death outside Barney's Beanery restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 18.

The incident began with an argument inside the popular restaurant and bar, authorities said. The altercation  moved outside, and three to four Latino men pulled a knife on the victim, said Lt. Gil Carrillo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s homicide bureau. Carrillo said the victim was taken to a hospital, where he died. The suspects are still at large.

"We don’t have any idea why [the argument] started yet," Carrillo said. "The restaurant is a well-known and well-respected eatery in West Hollywood." Neither West Hollywood nor Barney’s Beanery "are accustomed to incidents such as this," he said.

—Jia-Rui Chong

UPDATE: The victim was identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office as Michael McClure.  ...

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Orlando Ortega, 31, a Latino man, died of a gunshot wound at Sweetzer and Willoughby avenues in West Hollywood on Tuesday, May 29. His time of death was listed as 11:54 p.m.

Ortega was found lying in the street after neighbors heard gunfire. Detectives were left with little to go on. Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's homicide at (323) 890-5500.

Christian Melgoza, a 21-year-old white male, died Wednesday, Aug. 2, after being stabbed in West Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.