Actor Boyfriend Of Missing Model Kills Himself During Chase

LOS ANGELES, CA — The search for a 25-year-old aspiring model who disappeared last month is in high gear today after a North Hollywood actor shot and killed himself at the end of a police chase. The actor was the boyfriend of the missing model from Macedonia, and detectives believe he may have had something to do with her disappearance.

The Riverside County Coroner's Office identified the dead actor as 33-year-old Christopher Spotz. He shot himself Thursday night at the end of a chase through Riverside County. Spotz was the boyfriend of Adea Shaban, a Hollywood model who has been missing since Feb. 23, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

On Thursday night, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department advised the California Highway Patrol they were in pursuit of a stolen Toyota Tacoma as it traveled south on Interstate 15, CHP Public Information Officer Dan Olivas said. Authorities discovered the vehicle had possibly been used in a homicide that had occurred in Los Angeles County, Olivas said.

Shabani was last seen at about 11 a.m. on Feb. 23, near the 1700 block of Wilcox Avenue, between Hollywood Boulevard and Franklin Avenue, not far from her home, according to police. She has been living in the city for about two years, according to her friends. After she disappeared, her family hired a private investigator to find her and offered a $25,000 reward.

Thursday's chase began on Interstate 15 at Limonite Avenue in Riverside County. Two spike strips were deployed but Spotz was able to continue evading and transitioned to the westbound Riverside (91) Freeway. The suspect exited the freeway at Green River Road and came to a stop on Rio Vista Street, south of the 91 Freeway, Olivas said.

As officers closed in, Spotz shot himself with a handgun at about 8:45 p.m. in Corona, police said. He died instantly. Spotz had acted in various short films throughout the past three years and had a minor role in a forthcoming web series called "The Shoaks," according to IMDB.com.

City News Service and Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of the LAPD