Woman found dead after Westwood fire was UCLA student

More than 30 Los Angeles firefighters doused the fire before 7:30 a.m.in the 10900 block of Roebling Avenue, a multiunit apartment building located about one block from the university’s campus, said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. “UCLA is a close-knit community, and this tragic event affects us all”.

Police said it was unclear if the woman died as a result of the flames or if she was dead before the fire started.

Officials say the apartment had working smoke alarms. “Sadly, a person was found who was beyond medical help”. The Los Angeles and UCLA police departments said they were investigating this death as a homicide.

LAPD spokesman Aareon Jefferson told KTLA that the woman’s boyfriend is a person of interest in the investigation, and they are still searching for him.

An investigation into the woman’s death is continuing, and detectives are still trying to determine whether she died in or before the fire.

A detailed description of the man, considered a “person of interest”, was not immediately available, but a neighbor of the victim said the woman’s boyfriend had been at the building.

UCLA’s Daily Bruin newspaper reports the woman was studying psychology and Spanish.

Block said grief counselors would meet “with those who have been affected by this tragic loss”. UCLA students who live near the victim said when the fire broke out, they knew she was inside and screamed for her to get out.