Missing music video director found dead in his parked car in La Cañada Flintridge
A well-known music video director missing since late December was found dead in his parked car Friday night, and authorities are investigating the case as a possible suicide, officials said Saturday.
Coroner’s investigators identified Trevor Peterson, 40, through his driver’s license, which was found when sheriff’s deputies following a phone tip discovered the filmmaker’s silver Volvo in a garage in the 900 block of Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge. Coroner’s Lt. David Smith said there were no signs of foul play.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Jerry Montenegro said investigators believe Peterson died earlier Friday, in part because his car radio was still on when he was discovered. They could not account for his whereabouts since he was reported missing on Dec. 30.
“That’s the mystery; we don’t know,” Montenegro said.
“This is a devastating loss and we are heartbroken,” Peterson’s wife, artist Emilie Halpern, said in a social media posting thanking friends who joined the search. “He was found because of his friends.”
The Los Angeles Police Department’s missing person’s unit had put out an appeal Wednesday seeking the public’s help in finding Peterson, saying “his family was concerned for his safety.”
Halpern said she received a voice message from Peterson around 2 p.m. on Dec. 29, and he was recorded on security video that same day at a 76 gas station in La Cañada, the L.A. Weekly reported.
The paper described Peterson as a “go-to music video director for L.A.’s indie rock scene,” working with artists including Glass Candy, Nite Jewel, Arial Pink and Nedelle Torrisi. He covered the U.S. presidential campaign as a freelance cameraman and editor for BBC News, the paper added.
A posting on Halpern’s site identified Peterson as a CalArts master’s of fine arts graduate.
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