Body is that of missing victim

A question that baffled Los Angeles homicide detectives -- where is the body of the woman whom lawyer David Mahler is accused of shooting at an upscale Hollywood Hills home -- has been answered, authorities said Monday.

A body discovered by two men 10 days ago in a ditch four miles east of Barstow was confirmed by officials to be that of Kristin Franya Baldwin, 38, a former girlfriend of Mahler.

Mahler has been charged with murder in connection with Baldwin’s death on May 27.

He also is charged with assault with a firearm for allegedly threatening a roommate, Donald Van Develde, at the same location, a multilevel pink stucco home on the 8500 block of Cole Crest Drive in the Hollywood Hills.

Detectives have called the case highly unusual. They received a 911 call June 1 that a person had been killed at the house, where Mahler lived and subleased space to tenants.

Police interviewed several people at the house and eventually determined that a woman had been shot to death five days earlier but that witnesses delayed reporting it because they feared for their lives.

The next challenge was finding Baldwin’s body. Authorities, who said the victim also was known as “Chrissie,” asked for the public’s help.

Investigators said she was originally from New York, had “some police record” and was estranged from her family.

Baldwin also apparently had no long-term home in California, but had lived Ventura County and North Hollywood.

Baldwin’s body was discovered by two men who stopped near the junction of the 15 and 40 freeways in San Bernardino County to help a stranded motorist. The remains were turned over to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, which concluded that they were Baldwin’s.

The coroner’s office, who said Baldwin’s body was decomposed and dehydrated, has not ruled on the cause of the death.

Mahler’s lawyer, Andrew Flier, said he received no information about the body from the district attorney’s office and thus couldn’t comment about its discovery. But Flier said Mahler “completely maintains his innocence and proclaims he had nothing to do with any disappearance of anybody.”

Mahler, 43, who could face a sentence of as long as 50 years to life in prison if convicted, is being held without bail in the County Jail in downtown Los Angeles.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Friday.

stuart.silverstein@latimes.com