A 92-year-old developer was found dead inside his Hermosa Beach home and a 39-year-old suspect who had been barricaded inside the same property has been charged in the death.
The discovery led to an hours-long standoff between police and a suspect found inside the home who was detained while wearing a dark suit, tie, sunglasses and fedora.
The bizarre case began when Hermosa Beach Police were called Saturday to the home of Demetrius Doukoullos in the 500 block of The Strand for a welfare check after someone called officers and said Doukoullos, who lived alone, had not been heard from in several days, according to a statement from the Hermosa Beach Police Department.
Police found Doukoullos dead inside but investigators believe the beachfront home developer may have been dead for several days, according to police and court filings.
Officers also found a second person inside who did not live at the home, according to police.
“The individual was uncooperative, made statements indicating possibly being armed, and barricaded themselves inside the residence,” according to the statement.
SWAT officers and multiple law enforcement agencies, including police from the cities of El Segundo and Hawthorne, responded as the suspect barricaded themselves, prompting an hours-long standoff between the suspect and officers before Doukoullos’ body could be removed.
Seven hours later, and with the help of crisis negotiators, the suspect was taken into custody.
Booking information identified the suspect with two names: Robert Phillip Simmons and Elanor Beaulieu. According to Los Angeles County jail records, Simmons was held in lieu of $2,001,000 bail.
The case is being investigated by Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s homicide bureau.
Lt. Steve De Jong of the sheriff’s homicide bureau declined to comment on the case, and said investigators are still trying to determine how, and if, the victim and the suspect might have known each other.
“We’re still in the early stages of the investigation,” he said.
Prosecutors charged Simmons on Tuesday with one count of murder. According to the indictment, Simmons is believed to have killed Doukoullos sometime between March 7 and March 14.
Simmons was identified in court filings as Simmons, and Beaulieu as an alias.
Booking records also show Simmons had contact with police days before the killing. Simmons had been detained by Redondo Beach police just after 4 p.m. on Feb. 23 on a call of a petty theft from a store, according to Redondo Beach Police Lt. Vincent Dileva. Simmons was released later that day with a citation.
County booking information for that arrest identified Simmons as nonbinary.
Simmons was also arrested on Feb. 5, 2025, by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire division and released the following day after the charge was dismissed.
A spokesperson did not immediately respond to inquiries about the alleged crime that prompted the arrest.
De Jong said investigators are requesting the public’s help regarding the Doukoullos case, and asking anyone with information to contact the department’s homicide bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 213-628-2013.
The post Developer found dead in his Hermosa Beach home. Suspect barricaded in house arrested appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
