Taxi Driver Slain; Police Say Transient Confessed : Crime: Suspect wearing blood-stained clothes is arrested shortly after body was found. Quiet of Hidden Valley jarred by the slaying.

Less than two hours after a taxi driver was found shot to death in the hills above Trousdale Estates, a disoriented man wearing blood-spotted clothing was picked up four miles away on a Beverly Hills street and later confessed to the slaying, authorities said Saturday.

Taken into custody was Daniel Guil, 22, a transient from Lucerne, Switzerland, Los Angeles Police Detective Steve Osti said.

Despite his broken English, Guil led police to the murder site, Osti said. The detective added that Guil tried unsuccessfully to find the spot where he tossed the gun he allegedly used to kill Dane Whittenberg, 35, of Mar Vista, a driver for Yellow Cab of Culver City.

A man walking his dog found Whittenberg’s body at 6:40 a.m. inside his cab, which was parked on a dead-end street near Upper Franklin Reservoir off Hidden Valley Road, a private road south of Mulholland Drive.

The victim had been shot in the face and was slumped over the steering wheel, Police Lt. Ron Hall said. About $80 in cash was in the cab, as well as an open map book, Hall said.

Whittenberg, who worked the 4 p.m.-to-dawn shift, had last been heard from at 4 a.m. Saturday, when he was sent to a convenience store at 16th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica to pick up a fare, cab company owner Ed Chuntz said.

When dispatchers did not hear from him after a few hours, they became concerned, Chuntz said.

“But we hate to put out a (police) alert too soon, because the next thing you know, he’s stopped for a cup of coffee,” Chuntz said.

Police were having difficulty obtaining further details of the shooting, Osti said. In addition to language problems, Guil seemed disoriented and unable to concentrate.

The suspect was first seen at 8 a.m. Saturday on the corner of Gregory Way and Peck Drive, south of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. He was wearing white pants with a five-inch smear of blood on them and a dark leather jacket spotted with blood, Osti said.

A passer-by called local police when Guil asked for an ambulance, Beverly Hills Police Sgt. Bill Lemke said.

After Guil was examined at Century City Hospital and no injuries were found, Beverly Hills officers, who had overheard police radio exchanges about the cab driver’s death, wondered if Guil might have been involved. They contacted Los Angeles police and turned Guil over to them.

Hall said Guil admitted shooting the cab driver during questioning by Los Angeles homicide detectives.

Whittenberg’s death upset employees of Yellow Cab of Culver City, which has never had a driver killed during his 30 years of management, Chuntz said.

“This really comes as a shock,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of guys hit on the head and that’s about it.”

A quiet, single man, Whittenberg was known as a dedicated chess player. He also spent time caring for his father, Jack Whittenberg, also a Mar Vista resident, Chuntz said.

Whittenberg was considered a well-seasoned professional, having been a driver for more than 10 years for various Los Angeles-area cab companies, Chuntz said. He had returned three weeks ago to the Culver City company after a year’s absence.

“He liked to work late at night, even though it’s a little dangerous out there that time of night,” Chuntz said.

Because the company’s 50 drivers answer calls in West Los Angeles, with many from regular customers, Chuntz said he considered it a safer job than driving for companies in inner-city urban areas. But with Whittenberg’s death, Chuntz said he may rethink company procedures.

The shooting also upset residents of Hidden Valley, where the body was found. The area, formerly owned by actress Myrna Loy, is home for a half-dozen Hollywood actors.

“People live up here for the privacy, away from harm’s way, and now harm’s way is here,” said one resident, who declined to give his name.

“Hidden Valley has been very tranquil up to now,” said 35-year resident Else Carrington. “It really is a shock to think such a violent crime could be committed in an area you think is so safe.”

Another cab driver murder occurred in October, less than two miles away near Mulholland Drive. In that incident, Mohsen Ghasemi, 30, a driver for Independent Cab Co. of West Los Angeles was shot to death in a robbery. Ghasemi’s death brought to 27 the number of Los Angeles cab driver deaths in the last 20 years, city officials said at the time. Later statistics were unavailable.