Crime & Safety

Investigation Into Death of 93-Year-Old Woman Results in Arrest of Son in Cerritos

John West was arrested earlier this month for the death of his mother, who died on Dec. 18, 2010. A coroner's investigation suggest that she died from long-term elder abuse and neglect.

An extensive 18-month long investigation into the death of a 93-year-old North Hollywod woman has resulted in the homicide arrest of her 61-year-old son, police said today.

John West, a former North Hollywood resident, was taken into custody in Cerritos on a felony arrest warrant on April 20. He was booked at the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Jail Section and his bail was set at $100,000, according to police. 

Sue West died at her home in the 6000 block of Farmdale Avenue in North Hollywood on Dec. 18, 2010, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. But police were suspicious from the beginning, because a coroner's investigation suggested that she had not died from natural causes, but rather long-term elder abuse and neglect.

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Following her death, LAPD detectives from the North Hollywood Station immediately launched a homicide investigation working closely with the county's District Attorney’s Elder Abuse Unit and the coroner's office. The Adult Protective Services of Los Angeles County also assisted in the investigation, police said. 

After an in-depth analysis of the history of the deceased woman and her son, including an exhaustive background investigation and interviews with persons who had knowledge of the relationship between the two, an arrest warrant was issued for John West for Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse, Resulting in Death. 

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Anyone with information on this case was asked to talk to North Hollywood Homicide Detective Kevin Royce at (818) 623-4075.

- With reporting from City News Service and MarieSam Sanchez


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