Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found burning on a sidewalk in the Hollywood Hills on Dec. 16. They believe the death was a suicide.
Authorities received a 911 call at approximately 11 p.m. about a body engulfed in flames near Outpost Drive and Outpost Circle Drive, located in the hills northeast of Franklin and La Brea Avenues. Police and firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office took custody of the body, and the man’s identity has not been released as of Wednesday pending notification of next of kin, said Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office spokesman Ed Winter.
Det. John Skaggs, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Bureau Homicide Unit, confirmed that detectives are investigating the incident as a suicide. A handgun was found at the scene, and police believe the man may have set himself on fire and then shot himself. Officers found additional ammunition in the man’s pockets.
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Was this person ever identified?
Editor’s note: As of Feb. 13, 2017, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office was still in the process of trying to identify the remains of this individual. DNA samples have been sent to a state laboratory for testing in an attempt to identify the decedent, and the process will likely take up to six months, according to coroner’s office spokesman Craig Harvey.