Ben Bradley was directing "The Ballad of Emmett Till,'' which is scheduled to open in February. (Photo courtesy of Playbill.com)
Story Published:
Jan 5, 2010 at 7:40 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Jan 5, 2010 at 11:39 PM PDT
A 25-year-old Mexican national was behind bars Tuesday for allegedly killing a longtime East Hollywood theater director with whom he had a romantic relationship.
Jose Fructoso was arrested late Monday for allegedly killing Bennett Bradley, 59, who was found dead at 5:50 p.m. Saturday inside his apartment in the 100 block of South New Hampshire Avenue, near the Vermont/Beverly Red Line station. Bradley had been stabbed multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Capt. Matt Blake, commanding officer of the Olympic area police station, said Bradley -- a director/producer at Fountain Theatre in East Hollywood -- was likely killed around 5 p.m. Friday.
He said detectives found evidence, which he did not discuss, that led them to Fructoso's residence about a block away from Bradley's apartment around 10 p.m. Monday.
"We did a surveillance of the residence and we found him walking around near his residence,'' Blake said. "He was taken into custody and has been booked here. Since then a search warrant has been conducted at the residence of the suspect. Evidence has been found that has linked him to the murder, and later on as he was interviewed, [he] confessed to the crime.''
Blake said Bradley and Fructoso had a "romantic relationship,'' but he would not provide details on a possible motive for the killing.
"We're coming up with the motive,'' he said. "We believe there's a clear motive but at this point the case is still pending. It has not been filed with the District Attorney's Office yet so we want to keep that.''
He said a bloody knife was found in Bradley's apartment, and the weapon was being analyzed.
The Fountain Theatre in East Hollywood is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and Bradley was directing "The Ballad of Emmett Till,'' which is scheduled to open in February. The show is based on the real-life story of a black teenager whose murder helped spark the civil rights movement.
The body was discovered by a stage manager who went to the apartment to check on Bradley because he did not show up for rehearsals.
Simon Levy, a producing director at the theater, told the Los Angeles Times that the theater staff met for four hours Sunday and decided to go forward with the show "to honor'' Bradley.
"We've all been together for such a long time,'' Levy told the Los Angeles Times. "We're just all in shock. We're baffled.... There is hardly anybody in this theater community who does not know Ben in one way or another. He was just this big, loving personality.''
Funeral services for Bradley were still pending, and the Fountain Theatre established a memorial fund to help offset costs and to help fund the development of new plays in his honor. Details are available online at www.fountaintheatre.com/BenBradleyMemorialPage.htm.
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