Investigators are awaiting autopsy results to shed light on the death of KTLA anchorman Chris Burrous who was found unresponsive in a seedy motel room in Glendale, Calif. on Thursday, Dec. 27.
Police say Burrous, 43, was with another man at a Days Inn motel when he collapsed. The unidentified man called 911 to report “an individual he was with had passed out and was possibly not breathing.”
Police say the caller, whom they declined to identify, indicated that Burrous died of a “possible overdose.”
First responders administered CPR and transported Burrous to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In an official statement, KTLA president-general manager Don Corsini and news director Jason Ball remembered Burrous as a “great journalist and a wonderful friend to many.”
Colleagues sent their condolences to Burrous’ wife, Mai, and their 9-year-old daughter, Isabella.
KTLA aired ongoing tributes to Burrous over the weekend, but the station didn’t mention the tawdry details of his death on the air. Viewers learned of the suspicious circumstances of his death from other news media outlets.
Burrous came to Tribune Media’s KTLA in 2011 after working as an anchor for Tribune’s WPIX-TV in New York.
His family set up 2 Gofundme accounts with the combined goal of $125,000 for the anchorman who earned a modest six figure salary.
Burrous’s sister-in-law Rosemarie Do Silverstein suggested Burrous died without leaving insurance or savings for his wife and daughter.
“All funds will be used to help Mai take care of Isabella in the coming days, weeks, and months,” Silverstein wrote in one account.
The other account with a goal of $75,000 was set up by Gigi Graciette, a newscaster at a competing station in Los Angeles, according to Showbiz411.com.
Graciette said the proceeds would go to Mai and Isabella.
“As they mourn and deal with this sudden loss, the last thing they need to worry about right now is how to pay for a funeral, Mai finding a job, bills and other immediate expenses.”
A total of $13,854 has been raised so far from both Gofundme accounts, according to Showbiz411.
