UCLA student found dead in apartment fire

WESTWOOD, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - This is the week that classes start at UCLA, but they'll begin on a sad note.

Firefighters were sent to the 10900 block of Roebling Avenue at 7:05 a.m. Monday for a fire that broke out at an apartment building. Officials said the fire started in one of the units at an off-campus housing complex.

"We received preliminary reports that a person might still be in the burning apartment, so firefighters made an aggressive attack and search,'' said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. "Sadly, a person was found who was beyond medical help.''

The body of a woman was found, whose name was withheld pending notification of her relatives. However, the Daily Bruin reported that she was entering her fourth year at UCLA and was studying psychology and Spanish.

The cause of the fire, which was extinguished in about 15 minutes, was under investigation, Scott said.

Early reports stated a white male was seen running from the apartment. Also in the early stages of the investigation, LAPD said they were looking for her boyfriend as a "person of interest."

However, LAPD Sgt. Marlon Marrache later said the woman's boyfriend was no longer considered a person of interest, but he declined to elaborate.

A colleague where the woman worked part-time told FOX 11 that as of a week ago, she didn't even have a boyfriend.

"I woke up this morning to smoke and I heard a little screaming next door," student and neighbor Madeleine Ngo said. "I thought people were just messing around to be honest, but I heard two girls screams."

When Ngo found out someone died, she said she "couldn't believe it."

The investigation is ongoing.