KTLA Anchor Chris Burrous Death Ruled Accidental By County Coroner
UPDATED with cause of death: KTLA anchor Chris Burrous’s death has been ruled accidental, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.
Burrous died on Dec. 27 from what the coroner called methamphetamine toxicity, authorities said today. Other contributing factors in Burrous’ death included hypertension and heart disease.
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Burrous is survived by his wife Mai and 9-year-old daughter Isabella.
EARLIER: KTLA Morning News reporter and weekend anchor Chris Burrous died Thursday after being found unconscious at a Glendale motel. His death is being investigated as a possible overdose, police said. He was 43.
Burrous was found unresponsive at a Days Inn in Glendale after a male he was with called authorities around 1:15 PM to report he had passed out and was possibly not breathing, Glendale Police Sgt. Dan Suttles said at a news briefing. Paramedics administered CPR before transporting Burrous to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, officials said. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office is working to determine the official cause of death.
Burrous joined KTLA in 2011 after working for 14 years as a reporter and anchor at news stations across the country, After stints at stations in the Bay Area and South Dakota, he joined KGET in Bakersfield in 1999 as a morning news anchor. It was there that he met his wife, journalist Mai Do-Burrous. He also was a morning news anchor at both KGPE in Fresno and KMAX in Sacramento and also worked for a time at KTLA sister station WPIX in New York City, where he was an anchor.
At KTLA, Burrous helped extend Morning News to seven days a week, anchoring weekends and covering breaking news on weekday mornings. His weekend Burrous’ Bites segments, on which he highlighted the best hole-in-the-wall eateries Southern California has to offer, were a viewer favorite. He was also part of the KTLA news team that covered the recent devastating wildfires and the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burrous family,” KTLA President and General anger Don Corsini and News Director Jason Ball said in a joint statement. “Chris loved sharing the stories of Southern California and connecting with our viewers. 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.”
Burrous is survived by his wife and 9-year-old daughter.
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