Woman Was Killed in Rival’s Realty Office, Police Believe

The Long Beach real estate broker who was shot to death and stuffed into the trunk of her car appears to have been killed in the office of a rival broker, police said Tuesday.

Long Beach police Tuesday were seeking a warrant for the arrest of the broker, Vicente Lapid OCampo, but said the suspect may have fled to his native Philippines.

Police now believe that Arlene Lee Chee, 46, of Seal Beach was killed in the Realty One office owned by OCampo, 45, a former employee of Chee, Long Beach Police Detective Ron Pavek said.

“We found evidence that led to that conclusion,” Pavek said. He declined to elaborate.

Chee’s body was found last Thursday night in the trunk of her 1985 Mercedes-Benz a few blocks from OCampo’s office on West Willow Street in Long Beach. Family members said Chee did not return home Wednesday night and, after searching for her Thursday, they found her car on 25th Street near Fashion Avenue. They called police, who opened the trunk and discovered the body.

Family members told police that Chee had a noon appointment with OCampo on Wednesday. OCampo was last seen Wednesday afternoon, and his lawyer said he has not contacted family members.

“Our client has not contacted us,” said Leonard Matsuk, OCampo’s lawyer. “Nobody’s heard from him. His wife hasn’t heard from him.”

Police said OCampo may have been angry with Chee because she recently hired one of his agents, who police identified as Corine Bolden. Bolden, who began working for Chee last week, could not be reached for comment.

OCampo was one of Chee’s first employees when she opened her Century 21 Fortune office in the 2500 block of Pacific Avenue in Long Beach in 1982. Chee fired OCampo that same year and he set up his own real estate firm

According to the state Department of Real Estate, OCampo’s license was to be suspended for 30 days beginning Tuesday but he arranged to pay a $2,500 fine instead.

The state determined that OCampo had handled a deal negligently, a spokeswoman for the Department of Real Estate said. In an action related to the same deal, OCampo was ordered to pay $3,500 to a family that had filed the complaint.