The sister of a 30-year-old restaurant owner killed at an apartment complex near South Los Angeles will share pictures Wednesday of the person she said killed her sibling, and ask anyone with information on the killing to come forward.
A noon news conference is scheduled for Pepper’s Jamaican-Belizean Cuisine in South Los Angeles, which was owned by Joeline Thurton.
Joeline Thurton was discovered unresponsive in the 1200 block of West 87th Street, one block west of Vermont Avenue, in the unincorporated Westmont area at 8:53 p.m. last Thursday, according to Lt. Steven De Jong of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner and Deen Thurton.
The victim was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Deputies initially responded to a report of shots fired, and told City News Service early Wednesday that the case is being investigated as a shooting, but family members told CNS on Tuesday that the woman had been fatally stabbed.
The LASD has not released a suspect description.
Anyone with information about the killing was asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Callers who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.