Shooting at Pay Phone Ruled a Suicide

A fatal shooting in Hawthorne that was believed to be a murder now appears to have been a suicide followed by a robbery, sheriff’s deputies say.

The body of Roberto Avalos-Murillo was found at a pay phone on Imperial Avenue just north of Inglewood Avenue shortly after 3 a.m. May 7. Avalos-Murillo, 23, an Inglewood resident, apparently died while he was talking on the phone with a woman at his residence, which he shared with 11 other people.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Andy Finnigan said Avalos-Murillo asked the woman to wake some of the male members of the household but she refused. She said Avalos-Murillo did not appear to be upset and gave no indication that he might commit suicide, Finnigan said.

Finnigan said the shooting was originally investigated as a homicide because no gun was found at the scene and two gold chains Avalos-Murillo had been wearing were missing. Less than $20 was found in a wallet on the body.

But Finnigan said the Sheriff’s Department received results last week of a test that showed traces of gunpowder on Avalos-Murillo’s right hand. He said police also found a witness who reported seeing a gun next to the body.