LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles Police have offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of a male suspect. He was seen fleeing from the Valley Village fire that claimed the life of 34-year-old bride-to-be Chere Osmanhodzic on Sunday, July 25. Councilman Paul Krekorian and the LAPD held a news conference at the North Hollywood Division Thursday, July 29, at 11 a.m. in which a sketch and surveillance video of the suspect was revealed for the public.
On the evening of July 25, the victim’s fiancé, Adam Culvey, reportedly returned home to see another man inside the house he shared with Osmanhodzic. After confronting the suspect and chasing him several blocks down the street, Culvey returned to the house to find it engulfed in flames. Osmanhodzic’s body was later discovered unresponsive after five companies of the Los Angeles Fire Department, responding to a “civilian fatality structure fire,” extinguished the flames that engulfed her home. LAFD Rescue ambulances attended to the scene, as well as three arson units and other LAFD officials.
Friends and family gathered to mourn Osmanhodzic’s death during the news conference and offer their support to police. The LAPD urges the public to offer its support and assistance in the capture of the murder suspect. Investigators believe that the suspect assaulted Osmanhodzic in her home and attempted to start a fire to cover the evidence. After the police sketch was released, a surveillance video that captured nearby Osmanhodzic’s home is believed to show the suspect as well.
The suspect is described as being a Latino male in his 20s, between 5 feet 8 inches tall and 5 feet 10 inches tall and around 210 pounds. He was last seen wearing black shorts, a backwards baseball cap and a blue shirt. Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD, North Hollywood Station at 818-623-4016 or call Homicide Detectives at 818-623-4075.
