A transgender woman dressed up like a Blues Brother allegedly murdered a millionaire developer in his Los Angeles home before having an hours-long standoff with a SWAT team, authorities said.
Eleanor Beaulieu, 39, was charged Sunday in the killing of Demetrius Doukoullos and is being housed in Los Angeles County’s Men’s Central Jail, according to inmate records.
Neighbors reported a foul odor coming from the Hermosa Beach home, along with sightings of a suspicious person, according to Easy Reader News.
“It began as a routine welfare check and escalated to a suspected homicide,” Hermosa Beach Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Keagan Dadigan said on Monday.
Cops responded to check on Doukoullos around 12:30 p.m. Saturday after his realtor hadn’t heard from him for about a week, police said.
When police arrived, Beaulieu told them he was armed, Dadigan said, leading to a tense seven-hour standoff.
Eventually, an officer warned Beaulieu through a bullhorn that they would force their way in.
“Eleanor, come out with your hands up. This has been going on long enough,” the officer yelled repeatedly, the Daily Mail reported.
Photos show Beaulieu surrendering to police after hours of negotiations, wearing a peculiar outfit that included a fedora, suit, sunglasses, and black tie.
Police cautiously approached him, cuffed him and walked him south to one of the dozens of police vehicles.
SWAT units from Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo and Hermosa Beach assisted, Dadigan said.
Doukoullos leased the downstairs of the Hermosa triplex about a year ago, after selling his longtime Hermosa Strand home, realtor Neil Chhabria, who manages the property, told Easy Reader News. The victim had lived alone after his wife died in 2012.
Beaulieu has been charged with homicide. His bail has been set to $2 million. The relationship between the two is unclear, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau will take over the investigation.