Suspect arrested in murder of Hollywood executive's wife at couple's Beverly Hills home
Police have arrested a suspect in the murder of the wife of famed music executive Clarence Avant at the couple's Beverly Hills home.
Beverly Hills investigators have identified Los Angeles resident Aariel Maynor, 29, as a suspect seen in multiple surveillance videos, including city cameras, heading eastbound out of Beverly Hills shortly after 81-year-old Jacqueline Avant was shot, Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook told reporters during a news conference Thursday.
Maynor accidentally shot himself in the foot while in the process of another burglary, Stainbrook said.
Around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, about an hour after Jacqueline Avant was found with a gunshot wound to her head, the Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Division responded to a report of a shooting at a residence in the 6000 block of Graciosa Drive in Hollywood. When officers arrived, they found Maynor in the backyard, Stainbrook said.
After a "thorough" investigation, investigators determined that Maynor was allegedly in the process of committing a burglary when he shot himself by mistake, Stainbrook said.
He has been in police custody after he was treated at the hospital. An assault-style rifle was also found in the backyard of the home, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Blake Chow told reporters.
Beverly Hills Police officers responded to the 1100 block of Maytor Place just before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, where they found that Jacqueline Avant had been shot, according to the department. She later died at the hospital.
"Somewhere in the night we had a watch commander that started to put two and two together and reached out to Beverly Hills," Chow said.
Police believe Maynor is the only suspect, Stainbrook said.
"Our deepest gratitude to The City of Beverly Hills, the BHPD and all law enforcement for their diligence on this matter," the Avant and Sarandos family said in a statement. "Now, let justice be served.”
Jacqueline Avant was also the mother-in-law of Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos.
It is unclear if anything was taken from the Avants' home, but the back sliding glass door was shattered, Stainbrook said.
Clarence Avant was featured in the 2019 Netflix documentary "The Black Godfather" and in October was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 90-year-old is popular among A-list celebrities such as Oprah, Jay-Z and former President Barack Obama.
Police read a statement from the Avant family Wednesday afternoon during a press conference, which described Jacqueline Avant as "an amazing woman, wife, mother, philanthropist, and a 55-year resident of Beverly Hills."
ABC News' Nicholas Kerr and Alex Stone contributed to this report.
