In Case Of Murdered Theater Director, Police Say His Lover Did It

Ben Bradley.

Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of 25-year-old Jose Fructoso on suspicion of murdering Fountain Theater director Bennett Bradley, who was found stabbed to death in his Koreatown apartment Saturday. Police said the Mexican national was the 59-year-old auteur's lover.

"We did a surveillance of the residence and we found him walking around near his residence,'' Capt. Matt Blake, commander of the Los Angeles Police Department's Olympic Division, said. "He was taken into custody and has been booked here. Since then a search warrant has been conducted at the residence of the suspect. Evidence has been found that has linked him to the murder, and later on as he was interviewed, (he) confessed to the crime.''

Bradley was found dead about 5:50 p.m. Saturday at his residents in the 100 block of South New Hampshire Avenue, police said. Blake said, however, that the director was likely killed 24 hours earlier.

The commander said there is a "clear motive" in the case, but he would not reveal it. A knife believed to have been used in the attack was found in Bradley's apartment, police said.

A memorial fund to help offset funeral costs and to help the Fountain Theater develop plays in Bradley's honor has been set up, with details available here.