Possible Person Of Interest Questioned In Rolling Hills Stabbing

PALOS VERDES, CA – Sheriff's detectives Friday questioned a man described as a "possible person of interest" in connection to the stabbing death of a 66-year-old woman at a shopping mall in Rolling Hills Estates.

The woman, now identified by authorities as Susan Leeds of Rancho Palos Verdes, was stabbed to death in her SUV at the Promenade shopping mall in the 500 block of Deep Valley Drive shortly after 12:20 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. Leeds was found inside her SUV parked inside the mall's shopping garage with her throat cut and several stab wounds to her chest. It's unknown if the woman was a victim of a robbery, according to the sheriff's department.

Leeds, a wife and mother of two grown children, was pronounced dead at the scene and there was no other immediate information, Robinson said.

The sheriff's department released a photo of a person of interest late Thursday night, who was wearing a red baseball cap and black jacket with a cup of coffee. The photo was taken from security video at the mall. The man could be a suspect or a witness and sheriff's officials asked the man to come forward so they can talk to him.

Early Friday morning, the sheriff's department announced that authorities had detained a man who "may possibly be a person of interest" in connection to the investigation. The man was detained near the 1600 block of Pacific Coast Highway inHarbor City, where he appeared to be wearing a hat and jacket similar to those worn by the person in the security camera footage.

Video taken by a reporter at the scene showed the man yelling and screaming at officers as he was being placed in the backseat of a police car. Rolling Hills locals interviewed by local media sources describe the man as a transient.

This was the first homicide on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in nine years, the Daily Breeze reported. Rolling Hills Estates Mayor Britt Huff told the newspaper the stabbing was "unbelievable.'' Sheriff's Homicide Bureau detectives asked anyone with any information regarding the death to call (323) 890-5500.

City News Service contributed to this report; Image via Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department