Nadine Hernandez, a Los Angeles Police Department detective assigned to the Derrick Rose rape investigation, has died after being found with a gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles Times. She was 44.
Police in the L.A. suburb of Whittier responded to a call of an attempted suicide at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Hernandez was taken to a hospital and died at 3:27 p.m., according to the Times.
Whittier lieutenant Steve Dean said it was unclear whether the shooting was a homicide or a suicide.
Rose is currently involved in a civil trial in a lawsuit brought by a woman who accuses Rose and two other men of raping her. The LAPD is conducting a separate criminal investigation.
The accuser’s identity has remained concealed to this point but a judge ordered she must reveal her name at trial. In a recent appeal, the accuser’s lawyer included a letter from Hernandez saying that anonymity in rape cases is “an invaluable investigative aid to investigators,” according to the Times.
