Brothers Held in Sexual Assault, Slaying of Woman : Crime: The victim was raped and shot behind a Van Nuys bar. Police say physical evidence and witness statements led to the suspects.

Two brothers have been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and murder in connection with the death of a woman whose partially clothed body was found behind a Van Nuys bar next to the apartment building where she lived, police said Tuesday.

Suzanne Shapiro, 34, was beaten, raped and shot on Friday, Los Angeles police said. The victim was once married to the late Max Shapiro, one of Elvis Presley’s doctors, Detective Steve Fisk said. Max Shapiro died in 1991, Fisk said.

Suzanne Shapiro’s body was found early Friday morning in the parking lot of the Dugout Lounge and Restaurant at 14032 Oxnard St., police said. She lived with her boyfriend in an apartment complex next door.

Daniel Verdugo, 20, and Alejandro Verdugo, 22, were arrested on suspicion of murder Monday at the shop where they worked in the 11900 block of Valerio Street in Sun Valley. The two men lived together with their families about a block from the Dugout Lounge.

The men were linked to the crime through “physical evidence and witness statement,” Fisk said.

The brothers were scheduled to be arraigned today on murder charges in Van Nuys Municipal Court, Fisk said.

“They didn’t know her. They just confronted her on the street,” Fisk said. “She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Fisk said police believe that she was beaten and raped about 2 a.m. Friday. Her body was discovered the next morning by a neighbor. Fisk said the woman’s purse was missing.

“I thought at first she was asleep,” said Alex Schulz, 54, whose apartment window overlooks the bar’s parking lot. “Then I noticed all the blood, and I realized, ‘Oh, no! she’s dead,’ ” he said. He then called police.

The manager of Shapiro’s apartment complex said Shapiro did not own a car. Neighbors said they frequently saw her walking to stores in the area or waiting for the bus.

Apartment manager David Swyrin said she and her boyfriend moved there in October. He described her as a quiet person.

Fisk described the case as one of the most vicious he has seen on the homicide detail.

“It was a very vicious murder, very brutal,” Fisk said. “She was no threat to anyone. She weighs only about 100 pounds max. These guys are pretty stout.”