Teacher sought in fatal shooting of his spouse

A Los Angeles high school teacher was being sought as a “person of interest” Tuesday after his wife was found shot to death in the driver’s seat of her car in Monterey Park on Monday evening, authorities said.

Aaron Leonel Raigoza, 34, a teacher at the City of Angels independent study school in Huntington Park, is wanted for questioning in the death of Ana Maria Acosta, 32, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The victim was also a Los Angeles Unified School District employee.

Acosta was shot about 6:30 p.m. as she talked to a man while stopped in the 500 block of Russell Avenue. Several gunshots were heard, and Acosta was pronounced dead at the scene, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Butao. Her car rolled a short distance and struck another vehicle.

Throughout the day Tuesday, there was heightened security at school district headquarters, just west of downtown.

School district sources said Acosta worked in the payroll department on the 27th floor.

Raigoza was last seen driving away from the shooting scene in a dark sedan, Butao said.

The school where Raigoza works has almost 100 teachers at 30 locations throughout Los Angeles.

Students are not required to attend classes. Instead, they complete all assignments at home. Each teacher works with about 30 students, meeting with them for an hour or two each week to review assignments, make new ones and give tests, according to the district’s website.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. J. Leslie at (323) 890-5586 or Det. E. Brown at (323) 890-5636 at the sheriff’s homicide bureau in Compton.

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