(L.A.) Alexander Michaelson, 39, Killed Himself After Shooting His Wife Dead

Case Number: 2011-04050

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 39-year-old Caucasian male that occurred in a driveway.

The coroner’s office has identified the man as Alexander Michaelson, an immigrant doctor from Russia.

Manner of Death: Suicide

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound of Head

RIP ALEXANDER MICHAELSON (June 27, 1971 – June 15, 2011)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Wednesday at 6:55 p.m.

This was a murder suicide. Alex Michaelson shot his 33-year-old wife Vera Ishutina in the head multiple times before killing himself. The motive seemed to have been anger at his wife who had asked for a divorce.

Their two daughters were not home at the time.

Location: 15000 block of Sherview Place in Sherman Oaks (The couple had moved in about two weeks before.)

Time: between 11:00 am and noon on a Wednesday, bodies found by police at about 6:40 pm

The decedent had changed his name from Alexandre D. Mihelson sometime after his California medical license was issued in 1998.

Dr. Alexei Michelson was the Chief Medical Officer for South Valley Hospice Service. He graduated with honors from the Moscow Medical Institute in 1990 and received his medical doctorate. In June of 1999, he completed his residency training at the University of California, Irvine, and in 2000 his Fellowship at UCLA School of Medicine.

He was board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. His qualifications included geriatric care and pain management.

In 2011, Dr. Michelson was named a Hospice Physician for South Valley Internal Medicine. He gained end-of-life experience from his service at several rehabilitation facilities and in working with a geriatric population at Leisure World in Laguna Hills.

Michaelson, an internist specializing in infectious diseases, had been a staff doctor at Providence Tarzana Medical Center for more than seven years.

EPILOGUE: The two daughters were taken in by Vera’s brother Max Ishutin.

In January 2023, Max committed suicide after his American wife filed for divorce. He is survived by a young son named Ivan.