A Los Angeles Police Department detective who was investigating the rape allegations against NBA's Derrick Rose has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities confirmed Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
LAPD Detective Nadine Hernandez was found with a single gunshot wound to the chest Tuesday afternoon in a Whittier, Calif., home. She was taken to a local hospital but later died.
“At this time, there are no signs of foul play, and this incident is being investigated as a suicide,” Whittier police said Wednesday. “However, this is an ongoing investigation.”
A firearm was recovered from the scene.
The 44-year-old was one of "several" detectives assigned to Rose's case.
“At this point there is no indication that her case work had any connection to her death,” the LAPD said. “The Rose investigation will continue unimpeded.”
According to the report, Whittier police received a call around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday reporting an attempted suicide. Hernandez was transported to PIH Health Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:27 p.m. The home where Hernandez was found belonged to a relative, law-enforcement sources told the Times.
Hernandez had worked with the LAPD for nearly two decades and was reportedly frequently involved in high-profile sex-crime cases as a detective in the department's Robbery-Homicide Division Special Assault Section.
“We are heartbroken about the tragic death of Detective Nadine Hernandez, a 19-year veteran of the department,” the LAPD said. “It is a loss that touches us all in the LAPD family.”
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.