Turning Murder Into Something Good—And With a Big Bus

From the time he was a kid growing up in Studio City, Lonnie Levine was a rubbernecker. He loved learning about crime scenes, and going to the spots where some of the most brutal crimes occurred. 

He attended , and . Then, he traveled the world, and loved taking people on tours. He worked as a crime analyst at the Los Angeles Police Department, and now he’s taken his passion of crime and giving tours and has launched StarLine’s latest tour, the

“We pride ourselves with giving you the true details and take you right to the scene of the most gruesome crimes that have occurred in Los Angeles,” Levine said.

But, he’s also giving back. A portion of each ticket and special charity tours in the works will go to three major charities—the which helps severely injured service personnel transition back to civilian life; a fund for police officers and the education of their children, and breast cancer research, particularly invasive lobular breast cancer.

“Philanthropy is important, and it’s our way of giving back,” Levine said. 

On Wednesday, his large-bus tours will be featured on Good Day L.A. This month, he’s planning a special Halloween night tour that will be particularly R-rated and offer more gruesomeness than the day tours offer.

“One of the things that we offer that’s different is that we have real police officers giving the tours—and some of them have actually worked the cases of the crimes they have covered,” said Levine.

On a recent tour, LAPD Officer Kelly Love talked about how he was in the police academy when the North Hollywood bank shootout was going down in 1997. The tours go through North Hollywood and Studio City (for the murder of actor Robert Blake’s wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, near Vitello’s) as well as Brentwood for the Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman killings. Murders by the Charles Manson Family, the Night Stalker, the Menendez brothers and the Hillside Strangler, as well as the Black Dahlia murder and other famous Los Angeles crimes are also detailed, with actual police footage and some brutal crime scene photos and real-life details. 

“We don’t really give our opinion about the crime or the outcomes of the case, but we can provide insights into how the cases were worked,” said Love, who was naturally asked about O.J. Simpson and actor Blake, who were both acquitted in criminal court. Love is also a comedian who moonlights at some of the local comedy clubs that are passed along the way.

“We also want to take tourists into other parts of the city, not just Hollywood or the Westside, but into the Valley as well,” Levine said.

Back into the Studio City area where he grew up.

The tour was created by who grew up in Studio City. Follow him on the tour in three parts. Check out the upcoming series of videos on Studio City Patch over the next few days that will take you through the Studio City and North Hollywood area.

Over Halloween, a special adult tour is planned beginning Oct. 28. For more information call 323-580-6155 or www.crimescenetours.net.

(see a video of Lonnie Levine)

Part 1 of the Blake tour

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Click here for Part 3 of the Blake tour

Also see these parts of the tour:

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