Demetrius Doukoullos

Longtime resident of Hermosa Beach who was found deceased inside his beachfront home on The Strand near 6th Street on Saturday, March 14, 2026.

Demetrius Doukoullos was 92 years old when he died.

The discovery of Doukoullos’s body marked the beginning of a complex police operation that would last nearly seven hours.

The events leading to the recovery of Demetrius Doukoullos began when a landlord and neighbors, concerned by a foul odor and the fact that they had not seen Doukoullos for approximately a week, requested a welfare check. Upon entering the residence, officers did not find the homeowner safe and sound; instead, they discovered the decomposing body of Doukoullos, which law enforcement sources described as “gruesome” and showing signs of significant trauma.

Simultaneously, officers encountered an unauthorized individual inside the home. The encounter escalated when the intruder claimed to be armed and barricaded themselves in a bedroom, delaying the immediate processing of the scene where Demetrius Doukoullos lay. The standoff prompted a massive response from SWAT teams across the region, including units from Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, and Hawthorne.

The disruption inside the home of Demetrius Doukoullos concluded around 8:00 p.m., when the suspect—identified as 39-year-old Robert Phillip Simmons, also known as Eleanor Beaulieu—surrendered following extensive negotiations. Simmons was subsequently booked on suspicion of murder in the death of Demetrius Doukoullos, with bail set at $2 million. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau continues to investigate the motive and the relationship between the suspect and the victim.