Man Arrested in Death of Live-In Housekeeper

A 73-year-old retired real estate agent who called police late Sunday to tell them that he had accidentally shot his live-in housekeeper was booked on suspicion of murder after the woman’s body was found in his Huntington Harbour home, investigators said Monday.

The body of Lizzifrenf Pearal Lott, 48, was found Sunday on the kitchen floor at 16592 Tiburon Place, police said. She had been shot in the chest, Sgt. Ron Jenkins said.

Ralph Nickle Bruno was booked into the Huntington Beach City Jail on suspicion of murder, Jenkins said. A police spokesman said late Monday that Bruno had been transferred to Orange County Jail.

Bruno called police at 10:54 p.m. Sunday and said that he had shot his housekeeper while cleaning his shotgun, police said. “I can’t tell you exactly what (Bruno) said, but the way he said it brought suspicion upon himself,” said Joanne Bonkowski, a police spokeswoman.

Mrs. Lott, who was separated from her husband, had worked for Bruno for two years, Bonkowski said. She is survived by five children and her mother, who live in the Los Angeles area, Bonkowski added.