A 92-year-old developer was found dead inside his Hermosa Beach home and a 39-year-old suspect found dead inside the same property has been charged in the deaths.
The discovery led to an hours-long standoff between police and a suspect found inside the home, who was taken into custody wearing a dark suit, tie, sunglasses and a fedora.
The bizarre case began when Hermosa Beach police were called to the home of Demetrius Doukoulos in the 500 block of The Strand for a welfare check Saturday after someone called officers and said Doukoulos, who lived alone, had not been heard from for several days, according to a statement from the Hermosa Beach Police Department.
Police found Doukoulos dead inside, but investigators believe the beach house builder had been dead for several days, according to police and court filings.
According to police, officers also found a second person inside who did not live at the home.
“The individual was uncooperative, made statements indicating he was possibly armed and barricaded himself inside the residence,” according to the statement.
SWAT officers and multiple law enforcement agencies, including police from the cities of El Segundo and Hawthorne, responded as the suspect barricaded himself, leading to an hour-long standoff between the suspect and officers before Doukoulos’ body was removed.
Seven hours later, and with the help of crisis negotiators, the suspect was taken into custody.
Booking information identified the suspects by two names: Robert Phillip Simmons and Eleanor Beaulieu. According to Los Angeles County jail records, Simmons was being held in lieu of $2,001,000 bail.
The case is being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau.
Lt. Steve DeJong of the sheriff’s homicide bureau declined to comment on the case, saying investigators were still trying to determine how and whether the victim and suspect might have known each other.
“We are still in the early stages of the investigation,” he said.
Prosecutors charged Simmons with one count of murder on Tuesday. According to the indictment, Simmons is believed to have killed Doukoulos sometime between March 7 and March 14.
Simmons was identified in court filings under the aliases of Simmons and Beaulieu.
Booking records also show Simmons had contact with police days before the murder. According to Lt. Vincent DeLeva of Redondo Beach Police, Simmons was taken into custody by Redondo Beach Police on February 23 on a charge of petit larceny from a store just after 4 p.m. Simmons was released with a citation later that day.
County booking information for that arrest identified Simmons as non-binary.
Simmons was also arrested by the Wilshire Division of the Los Angeles Police Department on February 5, 2025 and was released the next day after charges were dismissed.
A spokesman did not immediately respond to inquiries about the alleged crime that led to the arrest.
De Jong said investigators are requesting the public’s help regarding the Doukoulos case, and asking anyone with information to contact the department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 213-628-2013.
