Woman, 20, Found Shot to Death in Chatsworth : Crime: Officers discover the body of the Reseda resident in her car. She worked for a company that was the site of a shooting last month.

By JOCELYN Y. STEWART

Nov. 1, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

A 20-year-old Reseda woman was found shot to death in her car in Chatsworth early Sunday morning, Los Angeles police said.

Talin Kara Tarkhanian died of a gunshot wound to the upper portion of her body, said homicide Detective Tom Broad.

A California Highway Patrol unit on routine patrol in the Browns Canyon area spotted the victim’s tan, late-model Mazda RX-7 near De Soto Avenue and the Simi Valley Freeway about 1:40 a.m.

“They noticed a lone occupant slumped forward on the driver’s side,” Broad said.

Initially officers thought that the victim was a drunk driver, Broad said.

“She was seated in her vehicle and shot through the open, driver’s side window,” said Officer Ian Hirmand.

There were no arrests.

Tarkhanian was an employee of News-Express, a distribution advertising network owned by the Los Angeles Daily News.

In a statement released Sunday, a Daily News spokeswoman said Tarkhanian was a route coordinator for News-Express and had worked at the company for the past year.

“We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Kara Tarkhanian,” said spokeswoman Lynne T. Jewell. “Because of the nature of this tragedy, it is appropriate that any further comments come from the Police Department.”

Last month, a man walked into the News-Express office at 16300 Stagg St. in Van Nuys and began shooting a .357 Magnum. Authorities said the man, who fled the scene, apparently wanted to scare his former girlfriend who worked in the office. There were no injuries in that incident and no arrests. The suspect was also a former employee.

Detectives said they did not know if Tarkhanian’s killing and the shooting incident last month are related. “We’re investigating to determine whether or not there’s a connection,” Broad said.

Anyone with information about the killing should contact detectives at the LAPD Devonshire Station at (818) 989-8291.