Donald Sterling
The son of billionaire Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been found dead at his home in Malibu.
Detectives discovered the body of Scott Sterling, 32, on New Year's Day after they were called to his beachside apartment on Pacific Coast Highway at around 11:29 p.m. to check on his welfare.
Police are blaming his death on an apparent drug overdose, though an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday to confirm the cause of death.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Sterling had not been seen for at least two days before his body was found alone at the lavish home, which property records show is one of thousands owned by his father.
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said it would be several weeks before a cause of death is determined, pending toxicology tests.
KTLA.com reported that Sterling had a drug problem and had been in and out of rehab. Neighbors told the TV station that the billionaire's son was trying to get clean.
He also suffered diabetes, which may have been a factor in his death. It was not immediately known who reported the death to police, though reports suggest it was a friend.
Scott Sterling made headlines in 1999, when he shot his 19-year-old childhood friend, Philip Scheid, who he claimed attacked him with a knife.
The incident, which was reportedly over 'Saved By The Bell: The New Class' actress Lindsey McKeon, happened at Donald Sterling's home on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, though neither he nor his wife were home at the time.
However, the 77-year-old was caught up in the shooting, with prosecutors citing the transcript of a phone call in which he seemingly attempted to intimidate or influence a detective.
More than a year after the incident, prosecutors decided not to file charges, saying the victim was not credible, according to KTLA.com.
The result frustrated police as medical records showed that Scheid was shot from behind from at least 15 feet away, yet Sterling claimed self-defense.
'No rational person would entertain the possibility of his story being true,' Beverly Hills Det. Sgt. Jack Douglas wrote in a memo to prosecutors.
Donald Sterling is a real estate mogul with $1.9 billion in assets, according to Forbes.
He got into the basketball business in 1981, when he paid $12.7 million for the San Diego Clippers and three years later moved the team to Los Angeles.
The team has enjoyed little success ever since, but it currently owns the best record in the NBA and became just the third squad in league history to complete an undefeated month in December.
Apart from his ownership of the Clippers, the elder Sterling has a somewhat sketchy past.
The notoriously frugal billionaire has made headlines for a number of sexual harassment court cases and has also been sued for discrimination by tenants at one of the 150 buildings he owns across Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and Las Vegas.
In 2003, 19 tenants at the Ardmore Apartments in Beverly Hills and the nonprofit Housing Rights Center brought a discrimination lawsuit against him, according to ESPN.
According to a testimony from a former property supervisor, Sterling was on a mission to evict or push out any tenants that didn't 'fit his image.' The supervisor, Sumner Davenport, said that meant blacks, Mexican-Americans, children whom he called 'brats' and government-housing-subsidy recipients.
Davenport said Sterling refused to do repairs for black tenants and harassed them with surprise inspections, threatening residents with eviction for alleged violations of building rules.
He refused to fix the apartment of an elderly blind woman after it flooded, she said. The woman asked for compensation for her ruined belongings, to which, according to Davenport, Sterling responded: 'Is she one of those black people that stink? I am not going to do that. Just evict the bitch.'
The dispute ended with a settlement in 2005 - the largest ever obtained in such a case, according to the judge.
In 1996, a former employee named Christine Jaksy sued Sterling for sexual harassment.
The two sides reached a confidential settlement but according to testimony Jaksy gave under oath, Sterling touched her in ways that made her uncomfortable and asked her to visit friends of his for sex. Sterling also repeatedly ordered her to find massage therapists to service him sexually.
In another case, he was taken to court by a prostitute he had given a $1 million apartment to before taking it back.
'When you pay a woman for sex, you are not together with her,' Sterling testified in 2003, according to ESPN. 'You're paying her for a few moments to use her body for sex. Is it clear? Is it clear?'
While his father's character is questionable, a resident of the Malibu Beach Villas, where Scott Sterling was found dead, told the LA Times that the 32-year-old was a 'nice guy' who would wave when she saw him walking his dog.
'He said hello,' the neighbor said. 'It's a sad day here.'
Another friend and neighbor described the man as 'intelligent and kind.'
Detectives discovered the body of Scott Sterling, 32, on New Year's Day after they were called to his beachside apartment on Pacific Coast Highway at around 11:29 p.m. to check on his welfare.
Police are blaming his death on an apparent drug overdose, though an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday to confirm the cause of death.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Sterling had not been seen for at least two days before his body was found alone at the lavish home, which property records show is one of thousands owned by his father.
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said it would be several weeks before a cause of death is determined, pending toxicology tests.
KTLA.com reported that Sterling had a drug problem and had been in and out of rehab. Neighbors told the TV station that the billionaire's son was trying to get clean.
He also suffered diabetes, which may have been a factor in his death. It was not immediately known who reported the death to police, though reports suggest it was a friend.
Scott Sterling made headlines in 1999, when he shot his 19-year-old childhood friend, Philip Scheid, who he claimed attacked him with a knife.
The incident, which was reportedly over 'Saved By The Bell: The New Class' actress Lindsey McKeon, happened at Donald Sterling's home on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, though neither he nor his wife were home at the time.
However, the 77-year-old was caught up in the shooting, with prosecutors citing the transcript of a phone call in which he seemingly attempted to intimidate or influence a detective.
More than a year after the incident, prosecutors decided not to file charges, saying the victim was not credible, according to KTLA.com.
The result frustrated police as medical records showed that Scheid was shot from behind from at least 15 feet away, yet Sterling claimed self-defense.
'No rational person would entertain the possibility of his story being true,' Beverly Hills Det. Sgt. Jack Douglas wrote in a memo to prosecutors.
Donald Sterling is a real estate mogul with $1.9 billion in assets, according to Forbes.
He got into the basketball business in 1981, when he paid $12.7 million for the San Diego Clippers and three years later moved the team to Los Angeles.
The team has enjoyed little success ever since, but it currently owns the best record in the NBA and became just the third squad in league history to complete an undefeated month in December.
Apart from his ownership of the Clippers, the elder Sterling has a somewhat sketchy past.
The notoriously frugal billionaire has made headlines for a number of sexual harassment court cases and has also been sued for discrimination by tenants at one of the 150 buildings he owns across Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and Las Vegas.
In 2003, 19 tenants at the Ardmore Apartments in Beverly Hills and the nonprofit Housing Rights Center brought a discrimination lawsuit against him, according to ESPN.
According to a testimony from a former property supervisor, Sterling was on a mission to evict or push out any tenants that didn't 'fit his image.' The supervisor, Sumner Davenport, said that meant blacks, Mexican-Americans, children whom he called 'brats' and government-housing-subsidy recipients.
Davenport said Sterling refused to do repairs for black tenants and harassed them with surprise inspections, threatening residents with eviction for alleged violations of building rules.
He refused to fix the apartment of an elderly blind woman after it flooded, she said. The woman asked for compensation for her ruined belongings, to which, according to Davenport, Sterling responded: 'Is she one of those black people that stink? I am not going to do that. Just evict the bitch.'
The dispute ended with a settlement in 2005 - the largest ever obtained in such a case, according to the judge.
In 1996, a former employee named Christine Jaksy sued Sterling for sexual harassment.
The two sides reached a confidential settlement but according to testimony Jaksy gave under oath, Sterling touched her in ways that made her uncomfortable and asked her to visit friends of his for sex. Sterling also repeatedly ordered her to find massage therapists to service him sexually.
In another case, he was taken to court by a prostitute he had given a $1 million apartment to before taking it back.
'When you pay a woman for sex, you are not together with her,' Sterling testified in 2003, according to ESPN. 'You're paying her for a few moments to use her body for sex. Is it clear? Is it clear?'
While his father's character is questionable, a resident of the Malibu Beach Villas, where Scott Sterling was found dead, told the LA Times that the 32-year-old was a 'nice guy' who would wave when she saw him walking his dog.
'He said hello,' the neighbor said. 'It's a sad day here.'
Another friend and neighbor described the man as 'intelligent and kind.'