KTLA reporters and staff remembered morning news anchor Chris Burrous, who reportedly died in a hotel room this week.
Lynette Romero, who was a co-anchor with Burrous on the weekend, posted a photo on Dec. 28.
“There are no words. When we took this picture during our show I had no idea it would our last time together. You made me laugh until I cried. My tears now are for your sweet little girl, your wife Mai and your dear parents. We will miss you so,” she
tweeted.
Burrous left behind a wife and a daughter, according to reports.
Liberte Chan, the weekend meteorologist, also offered condolences.
“He was a master of live television,” she said, according to
KTLA. “I miss him so much. I’m sorry I don’t have the words to express exactly how I feel but he was more than just a colleague, he was one of my best friends here and I’m just so heartbroken over the loss of him,” she said.
KTLA entertainment reporter Dayna Devon said she was shocked over the news. “I looked through all my pictures to find a shot where we weren’t goofing off...but we were always goofing off. That’s what I loved about him,” she wrote on
Instagram.
“I thought he was a genius … He just got it from every angle,” Devon said. “I just feel like we had magic in a bottle.” She added: ”He wasn’t just one way on TV. He really was like that. He treated the crew so well and the staff so well.”
Details of Death
Burrous was found unresponsive in the Days Inn in Glendale, California, on Dec. 28. Glendale Police said his cause of death might be from a drug overdose. A man who called 911 indicated that the anchor may have overdosed. Officials will now await a report on his cause of death from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.He joined KTLA in 2011 after 14 years as an anchor and reporter at a number of different stations around the United States.
“The Glendale Fire Department responded to the scene and found a man down inside a room suffering from a medical emergency. The man was not breathing and CPR was administered as paramedics prepared to transport him to the hospital. The man was later pronounced dead at the hospital,”
said a news release from Glendale police.
According to the news release, “The original call to the Glendale Police Department indicated the deceased had possibly overdosed.”
It said, “Glendale detectives are currently investigating the case and are thoroughly examining the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his death. Detectives will be awaiting the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office report for a determination of the cause of death and to assist in bringing the investigation to a conclusion.”
Glendale police Sgt. Dan Suttles said the man Burrous was in the room with attempted to revive him as first responders arrived on the scene,
KTLA reported.
Suttles said the man “quite honestly did a good job of trying to render aid.”
The news anchor was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said.
“What we know at this point is that the call came in as a medical emergency, and that’s how it was handled,” Suttles said. He said there was no indication of suicide.
“That was something that we recognized right away, because, you know, everybody knows Chris. So we knew that this was gonna be something that was gonna be a very sensitive matter,” Suttles said,
CBS reported. “We’re waiting for a toxicology report to come back from the coroner’s office. Until we get that we won’t be able to tell what the cause of death was. It is being investigated as a possible overdose.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burrous family. Chris loved sharing the stories of Southern California and connecting with our viewers,” KTLA President and General Manager Don Corsini and news director Jason Ball said in a
statement. “He will be remembered as a great journalist and a wonderful friend to many. He brought a kindness to his work and will be deeply missed by the entire KTLA family.”
KTLA also
tweeted: “We have some sad news to report. Chris Burrous, a fixture on the KTLA 5 Morning News since 2011, passed away Thursday. He was a beloved member of the KTLA family and will be deeply missed. He was 43.”
