Thursday, March 19, 2026

Sheriff’s Detectives Seek Public’s Help in Unsolved Altadena Killing of Daniel Ursitti

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Nearly three years after the 27-year-old was found fatally shot inside a gated community home, investigators plan to release surveillance footage

Three years ago, an unknown killer shot 27-year-old Daniel Ursitti in the head inside a home in Altadena’s gated La Viña community. No one has yet been arrested. On Thursday, the detectives working his case are asking the public to help change that.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Thursday at its Monterey Park headquarters, where officials said they would present surveillance footage and seek the community’s help in identifying and locating suspects in Ursitti’s killing. Members of his family are expected to attend.

Ursitti was found in a bedroom at a two-story house in the 700 block of West Owen Court after deputies responded to a report of a burglary at about 2:34 a.m. on March 22, 2023, according to the sheriff’s department. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the department said. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office identified him more than a week later.

Two men and a woman were also found inside the residence unharmed, according to CBS Los Angeles. No further details about those individuals were released.

The La Viña neighborhood, a gated hilltop enclave in Altadena, is not the kind of place where residents expect gun violence.

“We’re a little shocked because it’s a very peaceful, safe neighborhood,” Terry Priesont, who lives in the area, told ABC7 at the time of the shooting.

Investigators released no suspect description or motive in the months following the killing, and the case went cold. The department did not explain the timing, but the news conference — with surveillance footage and a public appeal nearly three years after the killing — was announced through a department advisory.

Captain Arturo Spencer, Homicide Lt. Michael Gomez, Lt. Daniel Vizcarra and Det. Jonathan Bailey are scheduled to speak at Thursday’s conference, according to the advisory. Vizcarra was the original spokesperson for the case in 2023.

Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), via the P3 Tips mobile app, or at lacrimestoppers.org.