Chris Burrous dies at 43; KTLA anchor found unresponsive in motel
Chris Burrous, an anchor on KTLA Channel 5’s “Morning News,” died Thursday after Glendale police found him unresponsive in a motel room, authorities said. He was 43.
At about 1:15 p.m., police were called to a room at the Days Inn, where they found Burrous not breathing, the Glendale Police Department said. Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he died, the department said.
“The original call to the Glendale Police Department indicated the deceased had possibly overdosed,” the department said in a news release.
Police detectives are investigating the death. Los Angeles County coroner’s officials performed an autopsy Friday, but the cause of death has been deferred pending further investigation.
In a statement, Don Corsini, president and general manager of KTLA, and Jason Ball, the station’s news director, remembered the anchor as a “great journalist and a wonderful friend to many.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burrous family. Chris loved sharing the stories of Southern California and connecting with our viewers,” the statement said. “He brought a kindness to his work and will be deeply missed by the entire KTLA family.”
Burrous earned a broadcast journalism degree from Chapman University and joined KTLA in 2011 after 14 years as a reporter and anchor at news stations across the country, mostly in the Central Valley.
Burrous helped expand “Morning News” to a seven-day program, anchoring weekends and covering breaking news on weekday mornings, the station said.
“There are no words. When we took this picture during our show I had no idea it would our last time together. You made me laugh until I cried. My tears now are for your sweet little girl, your wife Mai and your dear parents. We will miss you so,” his co-anchor, Lynette Romero, wrote on Twitter.
KTLA colleague Liberte Chan told the station, “He was a master of live television. I miss him so much. I’m sorry I don’t have the words to express exactly how I feel but he was more than just a colleague, he was one of my best friends here and I’m just so heartbroken over the loss of him.”
alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @AleneTchek
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