Few Clues in Death of Toluca Lake Woman, 79

Los Angeles homicide detectives continued their investigation Wednesday into the death of a prominent Toluca Lake woman who died of an apparent heart attack, possibly triggered by an intruder who may have stolen a handbag.

Police detectives said they plan to search Christine Harriet Bireley’s four-bedroom home this morning to see if there is any missing property. One of Bireley’s handbags is missing, friends and relatives said.

Police said there are no suspects and that they still are unsure whether a crime was committed at the home. Bireley died Monday shortly after calling a neighbor for help.

“We can’t prove that there was anybody inside the house,” said Los Angeles Police Det. Mike Coffey of the North Hollywood division. “We have no evidence of an intrusion at all.”

Family and friends said the 79-year-old Bireley probably wouldn’t have let a stranger into her home, where she lived alone. They said she apparently was scared--enough to call a neighbor for help.

But Ralph Sorrentino, who lives next door, said he was disconnected while talking to Bireley, his neighbor of 30 years. He said Bireley called to tell him she was nervous about a cable TV worker who was either in the house or coming over.

When Sorrentino checked her driveway, he said he told her that the garage door was open, and then the telephone line cut off.

Police say United Cable--the company that serves that area--had no repair calls listed for Monday evening.

“For years they’ve had no contact at her house--no service calls at all,” Coffey said.

Coroner’s officials, who said their investigation is continuing, said Bireley appeared to have “head trauma,” which police described as a bruise on her left cheek that could have been caused by a fall during her heart attack.

Police said they have no witnesses.

“The reality is that we’re talking about a rainy evening and circumstances that would . . . preclude somebody from noticing activity in the area,” said Lt. Ron LaRue of the North Hollywood Division.

Police impounded a Pontiac Trans Am on Tuesday that had been parked in the area for several days, but released the car after the owner explained that he worked in the neighborhood. He provided no new details, police said.

Even if a suspect is apprehended, authorities will have a difficult time proving an intruder’s criminal actions led to the woman’s heart attack, authorities said.

“If we could prove there was an intruder in the house and there was a confrontation and she became so frightened she had a heart attack, then we’d have something,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Cohen from the Van Nuys office. “It sounds like they [police detectives] have a rough road . . . but it’s not impossible.”

Family members prepared to bury Bireley on Saturday at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, according to Ernest Baldwin, the family’s attorney.

Bireley, one of the first residents of the Valley Spring Lane area of Toluca Lake, oversaw a charity that distributed millions of dollars to hospitals, research programs and to Brigham Young University in Utah.