Woman's body discovered amid house fire in upscale Southern California city

SAN MARINO, Calif. (KTLA) – An investigation is underway after firefighters battling a house fire in San Marino discovered the body of a woman inside, officials announced Monday.  

Fire crews responded to reports of the blaze in the 2000 block of Lorain Road just before 10 a.m., according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.  

Sky5 captured aerial footage of the incident, with neighbors telling KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw that they saw fire coming from the rear of the home, near the kitchen.  

It wasn’t until after firefighters knocked the flames down that they made the gruesome discovery.  

“It’s definitely not normal, it’s pretty uneventful around here,” one neighbor told KTLA. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I can say this is not common at all. I think I’ve probably seen two big crimes happen in my 21 years of living here.”  

Responding L.A. County Sheriff’s homicide investigators quickly learned that a husband, wife and their two children live in the home and were working to figure out what the caused the fire and if there’s been any reports of violence at the home in the past.  

“The only thing we’ve been told is that there was a petty theft call and a wild animal call, but nothing of any domestic violence nature,” Lt. Steve DeJong told reporters.  

Authorities added that the woman’s family is cooperating with the investigation and that they are trying to determine if the fire was simply a horrific accident or involved potential foul play.  

Surveillance cameras in and around the property may provide investigators with that information, though officials have to obtain search warrants before getting the video.  

“Due to the sensitivity of [the investigation], we are going to wait before we make any statements about what we’re uncovering,” DeJong said.