Hollywood dreams: The murder of Juliana Redding

There were no signs of forced entry into Redding's apartment, suggesting that she had opened her door to someone she either knew or did not suspect of hostile intent. Because of the ongoing investigation, Padilla did not reveal if anything was missing from Redding's apartment. Although the information that was initially revealed by the SMPD to ABC News indicated that Redding had "died as a result of an assault," Padilla declined to provide details surrounding the nature of the physical attack, and would not say whether a weapon had been used. Following protocol, investigators decided early on that they would do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the investigation and therefore avoided comments that might compromise it. Padilla initially said that detectives were waiting for the results of the autopsy, which they did not expect to be completed for at least a couple of days, to determine exactly what caused Redding's death. Accounts by America's Most Wanted, AOL News and CNN of early, unconfirmed reports that the cause of death was blunt force trauma were refuted by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

Juliana Redding

"Those media reports are not accurate," said a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. "The cause of death was not blunt force trauma. The file has been sealed by the police, so we cannot disclose the actual cause of death."

"The manner of death is homicide," said Sgt. Rinaldi Thruston of the SMPD, matter-of-factly.

Little else about the manner of death was revealed at that early juncture of the investigation.

"Right now we are trying to get more information and learn the [identities of] the people she associated with so we can continue to conduct this investigation," Padilla said.

The secrecy surrounding the case baffled many people, and created an even greater public interest in the case.