Authorities are searching for a person of interest after a woman was found stabbed to death in the parking structure of a mall in Rolling Hills Estates.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to the 500 block of Deep Valley Drive shortly after 12:20 p.m. Thursday for a fire rescue call, authorities said.

When deputies arrived, they found a woman with multiple stab wounds to her upper torso inside a car parked at the Promenade on the Peninsula mall, authorities said. The woman, identified by coroner’s officials as Susan Leeds, 66, of Rancho Palos Verdes, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives are examining surveillance video and canvassing the area for witnesses. Authorities have released a photo of a man who was near the location at the time of the stabbing and may have information about the crime. He is described as a person of interest and a transient.


On Friday morning, the department tweeted that a person was being detained in the 1600 block of Pacific Coast Highway “that may POSSIBLY be the person of interest” sought in connection with the stabbing death investigation.

The city released a statement Thursday alerting residents about the investigation and noting that Rolling Hills Estates “is a very safe community and incidents like this are highly unusual.”

The Daily Breeze reported that the city has not reported a homicide since 2009, when an attorney was shot execution-style outside his home.

There is no known motive for the slaying or suspect information. The investigation is ongoing.


Anyone with information is asked to contact the department’s homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia


UPDATES:

9:15 a.m.: This article was updated with a department tweet stating that the person of interest has possibly been detained.

This article was originally published at 8 a.m.