Man Charged in Fatal Lake Forest Shooting

LAKE FOREST (CNS) — A 60-year-old man was charged Friday with gunning down a woman in her 40s in front of a Lake Forest hotel this week.

Philip Douglas Whyte was charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement for the discharge of a firearm causing death, according to court records.

Whyte is accused of killing Cindy W., according to the criminal complaint. Sheriff's authorities have not yet released the name of the victim.

Deputies were called at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday to the Hilton Garden Inn Irvine Spectrum at 23131 Lake Center Drive on a report of a man shooting a woman, said Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

When deputies arrived, they found the mortally injured woman outside the hotel, and detained the man, she said.

The victim was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Braun said.

The man, who complained of an unspecified health issue, was also taken to a hospital, she said.
Deputies do not know what relationship, if any, the two had nor what prompted the shooting, she said.

— By City News Service