Parolee arrested in killing of teenage girl in Los Angeles
City News Service
A 50-year-old parolee who was initially arrested on suspicion of drinking in public and carrying drug paraphernalia was behind bars today for allegedly killing a 17-year-old girl whose body was found in the passenger seat of her car near Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
Charlie Samuel, 50, of Los Angeles, was arrested Friday night for the lesser offenses, but by
Sunday, he was booked on suspicion of killing Lily Burk, whose body was found around 6:30
a.m. Saturday near Alameda and Fourth Street.
Samuel was being held without bail. The killing was believed to be the result of a botched
robbery.
"We are grateful that the police apprehended someone so quickly and that this man is off the
streets," Burk's parents, Deborah Drooz and Greg Burk, said in a statement read to KTLA by
a family friend. "We don't want him to hurt anyone else. We will now let the legal process run
its course."
A 50-year-old parolee who was initially arrested on suspicion of drinking in public and carrying drug paraphernalia was behind bars today for allegedly killing a 17-year-old girl whose body was found in the passenger seat of her car near Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
Charlie Samuel, 50, of Los Angeles, was arrested Friday night for the lesser offenses, but by
Sunday, he was booked on suspicion of killing Lily Burk, whose body was found around 6:30
a.m. Saturday near Alameda and Fourth Street.
Samuel was being held without bail. The killing was believed to be the result of a botched
robbery.
"We are grateful that the police apprehended someone so quickly and that this man is off the
streets," Burk's parents, Deborah Drooz and Greg Burk, said in a statement read to KTLA by
a family friend. "We don't want him to hurt anyone else. We will now let the legal process run
its course."
Burk, a would-be senior at North Hollywood's Oakwood School, left her
home in Los Feliz about 2 p.m. Friday to pick up some papers for her mother, a law professor
at Southwestern University School of Law in the Westlake area, and called
each of her parents hours later, asking how to get cash using her credit cards at an ATM. Her
father told her that the credit card could not be used at an ATM, police said.
According to police, Burk made arrangements with her father to go their home to pick up an
unspecified amount of money, but she never made it home.
Police said they believe Burk encountered Samuel in the area of Wilshire Boulevard and
Wilshire Place around 3 p.m. Friday, and they went downtown and made several attempts to
get money from an ATM.
Within two hours of Burk's final phone call to her father, Samuel drove Burk's car to 458 S.
Alameda Street, where he abandoned the car with Burk's body inside and walked away, police said. Signs of a struggle were found in the Volvo, and detectives said the girl had suffered head trauma.
About 30 minutes later Friday night, Samuel was detained by police for allegedly drinking in
public near Third and Los Angeles streets. When officers searched him, they found a cocaine
pipe, police said. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of possessing drug
paraphernalia.
Fingerprints collected from Burk's car then linked him to the girl's killing, police said, and Burk was booked on suspicion of murder Sunday night.
Samuel was in Los Angeles to complete a court-ordered program as a condition of his parole
from an earlier conviction. His previous criminal history was not immediately released.
"The thing we want people to know about Lily is that she was a beautiful person and that she
was looking forward to her life," Burk's parents said in a statement over the weekend. "She
was funny, warm, kind and empathetic. She was deeply and widely loved.
"Lily was looking forward to going to college, to being a writer, to what was ahead," they said.
"She had a really bright future and it was cut short. If there is anything that people can take
away from this horrible tragedy, it's that life is fragile and that they should live every minute of
it fully."
home in Los Feliz about 2 p.m. Friday to pick up some papers for her mother, a law professor
at Southwestern University School of Law in the Westlake area, and called
each of her parents hours later, asking how to get cash using her credit cards at an ATM. Her
father told her that the credit card could not be used at an ATM, police said.
According to police, Burk made arrangements with her father to go their home to pick up an
unspecified amount of money, but she never made it home.
Police said they believe Burk encountered Samuel in the area of Wilshire Boulevard and
Wilshire Place around 3 p.m. Friday, and they went downtown and made several attempts to
get money from an ATM.
Within two hours of Burk's final phone call to her father, Samuel drove Burk's car to 458 S.
Alameda Street, where he abandoned the car with Burk's body inside and walked away, police said. Signs of a struggle were found in the Volvo, and detectives said the girl had suffered head trauma.
About 30 minutes later Friday night, Samuel was detained by police for allegedly drinking in
public near Third and Los Angeles streets. When officers searched him, they found a cocaine
pipe, police said. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of possessing drug
paraphernalia.
Fingerprints collected from Burk's car then linked him to the girl's killing, police said, and Burk was booked on suspicion of murder Sunday night.
Samuel was in Los Angeles to complete a court-ordered program as a condition of his parole
from an earlier conviction. His previous criminal history was not immediately released.
"The thing we want people to know about Lily is that she was a beautiful person and that she
was looking forward to her life," Burk's parents said in a statement over the weekend. "She
was funny, warm, kind and empathetic. She was deeply and widely loved.
"Lily was looking forward to going to college, to being a writer, to what was ahead," they said.
"She had a really bright future and it was cut short. If there is anything that people can take
away from this horrible tragedy, it's that life is fragile and that they should live every minute of
it fully."
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About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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This makes me sick inside!! This young girl had so much going for her. Yet, a parolee has ended her life. I wish the California justice system was like Texas, this loser would be put to death in less than a year in Huntsville, Texas. California needs to step up to the plate for these losers!!! Show a message, you kill someone, you will die!! Bring back the gas chamber for this loser!!!!
Big Mo
Eastside Torrance