Local News in Brief : Woman, 18, Shot to Death in Motel

An 18-year-old woman was found shot to death early Tuesday in a Sylmar motel, and a suspect in the killing later surrendered to authorities, Los Angeles police said.

Police and paramedics were called at 2:45 a.m. to a room at the Rutherford Motel in the 13100 block of San Fernando Road, where they found Michelle Smith of Sylmar dead, said Lt. Bernard Conine. She had been shot in the upper body with a shotgun, he said.

About three hours later, Vincent Williams, 23, who is believed to be from the Pacoima area, surrendered to police at the Foothill Division station in Pacoima, Conine said.

Williams was arrested on suspicion of murder and was being held without bail in the station’s jail. Conine said detectives recovered the murder weapon from Williams. A motive for the shooting was not yet known, Conine said.