BURBANK : Couple’s Breakup Linked to Killings

Burbank police released few new details Wednesday about an apparent murder-suicide that took place earlier this week in the conference room of a high-rise office building in the city’s Media District.

Mickie Harrod, 43, a receptionist for Allianz Insurance Co., and James Cowgill, 60, of Granada Hills, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Authorities believe Cowgill walked into the Allianz office Tuesday morning, shot Harrod with a pistol and then killed himself over their recent breakup. A one-page handwritten note was found by police.

The bodies were discovered inside a third-floor conference room, said Police Lt. Larry Koch.

Allianz is located inside the Studio Plaza, 3400 Riverside Drive, where radio station KIIS-FM, Rysher Entertainment and other media-type businesses are based.

Visitors are asked to sign in at a front desk on the first floor and a special card is required to enter the offices.

Workers at the Studio Plaza said they were stunned by news of the deaths.

At about the time of the shooting, police said, construction workers had been firing nail guns into nearby walls, which may have muffled the sound of the gunshots.

Allianz official Steve Williams declined to discuss the case but said that a crisis management team was on hand to talk to employees.