Tucson Man, 19, Detained in L.A. Murder of Actress

A 19-year-old man found running in traffic on an Arizona highway was detained for questioning in Tucson today in connection with the shooting death of Rebecca Schaeffer, a young actress who co-starred in the television series “My Sister Sam.”

Los Angeles police said Robert Bardo of Tucson was not yet considered a suspect in Schaeffer’s murder. However, homicide investigators were en route to question him because of statements he allegedly made to Arizona authorities.

“He has not been booked on any (murder) charge,” said Los Angeles police spokesman Lt. Fred Nixon.

Tucson Police Lt. Anthony Daykin said a resident called authorities shortly after 9 a.m. to report that a man was running in traffic on eastbound Interstate 10 in downtown.

“We had officers respond there,” Daykin said. “He was in the way of traffic, in risk of being injured.”

Schaeffer, 22, who recently appeared in the film “Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills,” was shot in the chest at close range Tuesday morning after she answered the front door of her apartment complex in the Fairfax District.

Detectives said they found no indication that Schaeffer had been harassed by anyone but speculated that a deranged fan may have stalked the actress.

“It smacks of the classic sick fan,” Detective Dan Andrews said.

The killer, Andrews said, “was apparently in the neighborhood earlier that morning with a photograph of the victim and asked a pedestrian if she had seen the victim.”

Neighbors said they noticed a “bookish-looking” man loitering outside the building hours before the shooting. The man wanted to know where the actress lived.

“He stopped me, and he pulled this picture out of a large Manila envelope packed with junk, and it was her,” neighbor Irene Tishkoff said. “He asked if I had seen this girl in the neighborhood. I said, ‘What?’ and just turned away. I thought it was strange.”

Nixon said police had no information that Bardo had a personal relationship with the actress.

The gunman was described as between 20 and 30 years old, about 5-foot-7, with curly brown hair. He was wearing a yellow shirt, jeans and floppy sandals, Andrews said.

Bardo’s physical description was not immediately available.