Chris Burrous, the weekend news anchor and reporter Los Angeles-based KTLA, was found dead Thursday at a motel. He was 43.
According to a statement from Glendale Police, authorities received a call at 1:14 p.m. PT that Burrous “had possibly overdosed” and was unconscious. He was not breathing when paramedics arrived at a Days Inn, and efforts to revive him failed. He was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.
Glendale detectives are investigating while awaiting a report from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office on the cause of death. There was no indication that the death was by suicide, Glendale Sgt. Dan Suttles told KTLA.
Burrous joined KTLA in 2011 as a reporter and anchor and helped to expand its popular morning news shows to a seven-days-a-week broadcast.
The son of a Central Valley farmer and a NASA engineer, he previously worked in Bakersfield and Fresno before joining CBS13 in Sacramento in the mid-2000s.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burrous family,” KTLA president and general manager Don Corsini and news director Jason Ball said in a statement Thursday night. Chris loved sharing the stories of Southern California and connecting with our viewers. He will be remembered as a great journalist and a wonderful friend to many. He brought a kindness to his work and will be deeply missed by the entire KTLA family.”
He leaves behind his wife, Mai, and 9-year-old daughter, Isabella.
We have some sad news to report. Chris Burrous, a fixture on the KTLA 5 Morning News since 2011, passed away Thursday. He was a beloved member of the KTLA family and will be deeply missed. He was 43. https://t.co/HfDA1wTbOX pic.twitter.com/Qd0uz275pC
— KTLA (@KTLA) December 28, 2018