Violin teacher accused of sex abuse found dead
Sherman Oaks resident Christopher Ling, 57, had been a violin teacher at a prestigious music school in Manchester, England, in the 1980s.
During that time, Ling was investigated for sexually abusing some of his young female students.
He was facing dozens of sexual offense charges against 10 of his students, some of whom were as young as 9 when the alleged abuse occurred, according to an article published in the Guardian newspaper last week.
On Tuesday, U. S. marshals showed up at his threestory, pink stucco home in the San Fernando Valley about 6 a. m. to arrest him on a provisional warrant from his homeland.
“They were heading up to his room, and when they got there, he was dead,” said Laura Vega, a spokeswoman for the marshals service in Los Angeles.
He died from an apparently self- inf licted gunshot wound, Vega said.
After moving to the U. S. in the early 1990s, Ling lived with his wife, Pip Clarke, and their daughter in Sherman Oaks. Vega said Ling had been running a talent company in Los Angeles.
Ling had represented Clarke, a professional violinist who had attended the Chetham School of Music in Manchester where he taught. She was listed on the artists page of his website before it was taken down last week.
Apryl Volponi, owner of Personally Yours Mailboxes in Sherman Oaks, said the couple had been coming into the store for years and that she had seen Ling on Monday. “He was very kind and extremely personable,” Volponi said. “He would come in … and ask us to charge his bill. It’s just weird. I saw him yesterday.”
A neighbor said the family had lived in the community for about a decade. An- other resident, who lives across the street and didn’t want to be identified, said that Ling was very polite. He said Ling’s wife was the face of the family. “Pip is one of the loveliest women I’ve ever met,” the neighbor said. “She was the more social one of the couple.”
The Greater Manchester Police, who had been investigating Ling, declined to comment about the case.