(L.A.) Chih Lee, 45, Died at a Residence
Case Number: 2023-03330
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 45-year-old Asian male of Chinese ethnicity that occurred at a residence.
The coroner’s office has identified the man as Chih Lee.
Manner of Death: Suicide
Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound of the Head
Other Significant Condition: Thermal Injuries
RIP CHIH LEE (February 4, 1978 – March 27, 2023)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Monday at 3:55 a.m.
The decedent was found dead inside an El Monte apartment building that caught fire.
The blaze was reported at 3:05 a.m. in the 11400 block of Magnolia Street at Musgrove Avenue.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two units of the four-unit building were on fire. Firefighters had the flames out at 3:46 a.m.
El Monte police officers and firefighters evacuated the apartment units.
Arriving firefighters heard a popping noise that usually signals the presence of ammunition inside the residence so they first fought the blaze from outside the building to cool down the apartment before moving inside.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Ruling by the deputy medical examiner that this was a suicide was published on August 29, presumably after the results of tox screening came back negative for drugs.