Local News in Brief : Woman Died Before Car Fell, Coroner Says

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Tuesday that Shirley Rizk, the 34-year-old Canoga Park woman found dead in a burning car in a Malibu canyon Monday morning, died before the car was pushed down a 60-foot slope.

Rizk suffocated, coroner’s spokesman Bill Gold said. Gold said the coroner has not been able to determine how she was killed or how long she had been dead when the car was wrecked.

Rizk’s 8-year-old son, Rory, escaped from the burning car and scrambled up the hill to Malibu Canyon Road, where he flagged down a passing motorist, authorities said.

Sheriff’s deputies Monday arrested Rizk’s 16-year-old son, whose name is being withheld because he is a juvenile, and Richard Alan Parker, 23, of Antelope Valley, on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Deputy Sheriff John Broussard said Rory told investigators that his mother and his half brother had quarreled Sunday night. Shortly after the fight, the half brother asked Rory to go for a ride, Broussard said.

Rory said he was blindfolded on Malibu Canyon Road and that he heard the trunk open and felt someone being placed in the seat beside him just before the car was pushed down the slope, the deputy said.

The 16-year-old is being held in the Hall of Justice and Parker is in Los Angeles County Jail, Broussard said.