Body found in shallow grave identified as missing foreign model
LOS ANGELES — A body discovered in a shallow grave in Northern California earlier this week has been identified as missing Macedonian model Adea Shabani, authorities said Wednesday.
Shabani, who went missing in February, was identified by her tattoos, according to the Nevada County Sheriff ’s Office. She appears to have sustained blunt force trauma to the head but a final determination of the cause of death will not been made until toxicology and tissue analysis has been completed, police said. Her death has been ruled a homicide.
The monthlong search for Shabani, a model and aspiring actress, came to a close this week when her body was found in the shallow grave 50 miles north of Sacramento.
Los Angeles police said Tuesday that they believe Christopher Spotz, a 33-year-old man who police say had an “intimate relationship” with Shabani, was involved in her disappearance. He died last week after shooting himself during a police chase.
On Tuesday, William Hayes, captain of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division, called the case a “rather complex investigation,” saying it took investigators to Colorado as well as to two wildlife areas in Northern California in search of Shabani.
“Something happened and I believe it to be somewhat untoward,” he said at a downtown Los Angeles news conference. “But until I get more specifics out of the coroner’s exam ... I can’t be definitive as to the cause and manner of death.”
For now, police are combing Spotz’s truck for clues, along with a rental car he recently used in Colorado, Hayes said. They’re also trying to determine whether anyone else might be involved in Shabani’s disappearance or death, he added.