Niece Arrested in Fatal Shooting of LAPD Officer’s Mother

Police arrested the victim's niece in connection with the shooting death of 79-year-old Cleo Hughes, whose body was found in her South LA home by her son – an LAPD officer.

Barbara Jean Davenport, 60, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the fatal shooting of Cleo Hughes, LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck said during a news conference Thursday. She is being held on $1 million bail.

"This is a double loss for any family," Beck said. "To have one family member brutally murdered and another family member arrested for that murder, of course it’s a great loss."

Police believe the shooting’s motive was robbery but did not go into further detail during the news conference.

The victim’s only son – an LAPD officer in charge of training recruits – found his mother’s body on June 3 in the bedroom of her home on West 66th Street in South Los Angeles. She suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.

A family friend told NBC4 at the time that Hughes’ son often corresponds with his mother. When she didn’t answer the phone that day, he went to the house to check on her.

Hughes was affectionately known to neighbors as "Miss Cleo," a neighborhood icon who would sit on her front porch – cellphone in hand – bidding neighbors farewell in the morning and welcome them home at night.

"She was an angel to me," Clarence Brown, the victim’s friend, told NBC4 at the time.

Davenport’s case is expected to be handed over to the LA District Attorney for filing on Thursday, Beck said.

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