LOCAL : Tarzana Woman Arrested in Death of Millionaire Husband

A Tarzana woman who said she shot and killed her millionaire husband because she thought he was a burglar was in jail this morning on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

Carole Evelyn Mellinger, 48, was arrested after the shooting at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 19700 block of Komar Drive, Los Angeles police said.

Her husband, Brainerd Lee Mellinger, 69, was found shot to death in the den of the home in the exclusive hillside area of Tarzana, Detective Rick Swanston said.

Police said the victim owned Mellinger Co., an import-export business located in Woodland Hills, and often appeared on promotional advertisements on cable-television that dealt with establishing import-export businesses.

Swanston said Brainerd Mellinger was shot several times in the chest shortly after he came home. When police arrived, his wife said she had shot him because she “mistook” him for a burglar, Swanston said.

But “inconsistencies in her statements” and other evidence in the house led police to arrest Carole Mellinger, Swanston said. She was being held without bail at the Van Nuys jail.