Woman found dead on Beverly Hills sidewalk may have died of natural causes

The woman found dead on the sidewalk near the offices of a prominent luxury real estate firm in Beverly Hills was homeless and may have died of natural causes, authorities said.

The woman’s name has not been released because her family has not been notified of her death, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Lt. Lincoln Hoshino of the Beverly Hills Police Department said officers recognized the woman as being homeless. He said she was known to sleep in a sleeping bag on the city’s sidewalks.

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Authorities said the woman was discovered about 8:25 a.m. Monday in the 200 block of North Canon Drive, outside of the offices of Hilton & Hyland, the upmarket real estate brokerage co-founded by hotel heir Rick Hilton.

Charles Black, vice president of marketing and strategic development at the firm, said the woman looked as if she was asleep and was blocking the main entrance to the building.

“We knocked on the window and there was no activity and decided to call police,” Black said.

He said no one at the firm had seen the woman before.

“This one hit close to home,” Black said.

He said he and several other employees at Hilton & Hyland donate money on a monthly basis to Food on Foot, a nonprofit organization that feeds and helps homeless people.

Each year the firm sponsors an event in which employees go out and serve food and provide shelter and clothing to homeless people.

“People think of Beverly Hills and they think there are no homeless people here, but that’s not the case,” Black said. “I wish someone would have guided her in the right direction.”

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