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Music Teacher Wanted in Sex Crimes Case in UK Kills Self in LA: Feds

A violin teacher wanted in a sex abuse case in the United Kingdom fatally shot himself as federal agents served an arrest warrant at his Sherman Oaks home Tuesday, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Deputies were entering the home on Dixie Canyon Place about 6 a.m. when they heard a gunshot, according to Capt. Lillian Carranza of the Los Angeles Police Department. Inside, deputies discovered the body of Christopher Howard Ling on the floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No deputies were hurt. The LAPD was investigating the shooting.

Ling, a UK citizen, was wanted for multiple counts of indecent assault on a minor, the Marshals Service said.

As many as 11 alleged victims had accused Ling of sex crimes dating back to the 1980s, deputies said.

The British press covered multiple arrests and trials involving Ling's colleagues at the highly regarded Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, all connected to lurid tales of sexual assault of teen girls on the campus.

Ling moved to the U.S. on a work visa and had started his own company, a talent agency called CHL Artists, Inc., in Sherman Oaks.

After authorities left the home Monday, a young woman, who did not want to be identified, drove up with a contract in her hands. She said she was an actress who had set up a meeting to sign with Ling's agency. She had texted him to say she was running late.

"He usually answered very fast, and he didn't today, but so I came anyways," she said.

The CHL Artists website includes a client named Pippa Clarke, as well as other classical music performers. Court records indicate that she lives at Ling's home and is a co-owner.

The young actress said she's saddened to hear of Ling's death, because he'd spoken of a wife and teenage daughter.

But the overseas allegations of child abuse and fleeing arrest shocked her. She claims she had Googled Ling but found nothing suspicious.

LAPD commanders said investigators will look into Ling's contacts to see if there may have been victims on U.S. soil.

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