No Suspect, No Motive Found Yet In Rolling Hills Estates Homicide

PALOS VERDES, CA – A suspect has not been identified in the Rolling Hills Estates homicide investigation, nor has a motive been found, according to officials conducting a Facebook Live to update the public on the case. Although a person of interest was detained, there was insufficient evidence to link that individual to the crime, and he was not charged. He was eventually released from Los Angeles Sheriff's Department custody, an official said.

The Los Angeles Sheriff Department Homicide Bureau along with the Lomita Station Sheriff's Captain Dan Beringer and City of Rolling Hills Estates City Manager Doug Prichard conducted the briefing and answered questions asked by the community on the Facebook Live feed.

One community member asked if there are security cameras in the parking lot where the incident occurred, and a sheriff's official confirmed that there are. Officials told viewers they are not allowed to answer whether or not the crime occurred inside or outside the car but they confirmed it happened inside a parking lot. They are unsure whether or not the victim was robbed.

Investigators are pursuing all possible leads, while the Sheriff’s Crime Lab continues to process and analyze physical evidence, according to LASD. The investigation into a person of interest, who was detained last Friday morning, also continues. He was transported to a suitable facility where he is receiving the appropriate level of care, LASD said. No one has been named a suspect at this point, and no arrests for the crime have been made, according to sheriff's officials.

A 66-year-old 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 in Rolling Hills Estates shortly after 12:20 p.m. May 4, 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 that night – the man was wearing a red baseball cap and black jacket while holding 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 the next 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 May 5 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.''

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