(L.A.) Phyllis Patterson, 68, Died by Homicide
Case Number: 2023-16780
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 68-year-old White/Caucasian female in Sylmar.
The coroner’s office has identified the woman as Phyllis Patterson.
Manner of Death: Homicide
Cause of Death: Blunt Head Trauma
RIP PHYLLIS ANN PATTERSON (September 16, 1955 – December 3, 2023)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Sunday at 9:25 a.m.
The decedent was one of two people found dead at the scene of a fire in Sun Valley that damaged three structures on the grounds of a residential property where firefighters were faced with “thousands of rounds of ammunition exploding.”
According to the L.A. Fire Department, the greater-alarm fire was reported shortly before 5 a.m. at 13755 Glenoaks Boulevard.
Police responded to the location after receiving a radio call of shots being fired in the same area.
A woman’s body was found in a pool, and the bodies of a man and a dog were found in the burned-out debris.
Police said weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found at the site. A bomb squad was called to the location, as well as an arson detail.
Firefighters found heavy fire to the rear of one of three buildings on a 1.6-acre residential parcel of land, with the intense flames extending to a pair of adjacent structures on the property.
UPDATE: The man has been identified in the media as Richard Yapelli.
Phyliss is a misspelling of the decedent’s forename.