Family finds woman in her DTLA apartment after attack; police searching for suspect

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles police are investigating a "hot prowler" case at a downtown LA apartment that resulted in a woman receiving serious injuries.

Authorities believe the possible home invasion took place late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning at the apartment located at 1231 South Hill Street.

"Whether they forced their way in or not, that’s obviously a concern to us," said LAPD Lt. Ryan Rabbett.

Concerned family members went to check on their loved one on Wednesday morning and called police after finding her with numerous injuries in the studio apartment. According to law enforcement, the woman was listed in critical condition at last check.

"The family came out to do a welfare check," said Lt. Rabbett. "That’s when they did discover her inside [and] the 911 call was made. It’s a concern when somebody is found inside their apartment being the victim of an assault."

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Several bags of evidence were taken from the building Wednesday while officials checked for fingerprints outside the apartment. In addition, officials are testing to determine if the victim was sexually assaulted.

"There’s a lot of people that do live here by themselves, especially women," said Naiya Maji. "You need a key fob to get in. You need a key fob to get up every elevator, every door, which is why I live here."

Investigators Wednesday appeared to be focusing on the Hill Street side of the apartment building, primarily the ground floor.

In May, General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor was shot and killed on South Hope Street after confronting catalytic converter thieves. The Hope Street location is roughly two blocks from where Wednesday’s possible home invasion and assault took place.

Authorities are now checking surveillance video cameras for possible clues. Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
"Anybody who saw anything, give us a call," said Rabbett. "We’d like to talk to you. Hopefully we can find out exactly what happened here."