LAPD Detective Investigating Rape Case Involving NBA Player Found Dead of Apparent Suicide

The Los Angeles Police Department is mourning the loss of a detective who died in Whittier in an apparent suicide.

“We are heartbroken about the tragic death of Detective Nadine Hernandez, a 19-year veteran of the department,” the LAPD said in a statement Wednesday. “It is a loss that touches us all in the LAPD family.”

Hernandez — who was found shot in the chest at her Whittier home on Tuesday — was among several detectives working on the case involving a rape allegation against NBA star Derrick Rose, according to the LAPD.

“At this point there is no indication that her case work had any connection to her death. The Rose investigation will continue unimpeded,” the LAPD statement said.

Hernandez was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries. Her death is being investigated as a suicide, Officer John Scoggins, a spokesman with the Whittier Police Department, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram .