An executive at Paramount Pictures was found dead near his residence in Valencia, Calif. Coroners suspect that the victim had committed suicide.
According to Variety, Paramount's Senior Vice President for licensing David Thornton was found dead by two hikers on the San Francisquito Creek Trail in Valencia. The discovery was made on Wednesday, Aug. 10. The report also added that a 9mm handgun was spotted near the crime scene.
The two witnesses immediately reported the discovery to Sheriff's Station deputies around 6:30 am on Wednesday, local news outfit KHTS News reported.
KHTS News also reported that Thornton's family have filed a missing persons report for the exec on Tuesday night, Aug. 9.
Detective Steve Lankford of the local homicide division, who leads the investigation, said there was no indication as to why Thornton would commit suicide.
Paramount Pictures extended its sympathy to Thornton's family in a statement issued on Friday, Aug. 12. Paramount lauded Thornton's commitment to his work, calling him a "passionate" member of the company.
"We are saddened by his passing," the studio said in the statement.
Paramount Pictures is the studio behind the popular science-fiction series "Star Trek." It has recently released Star Trek Beyond, the third film in the series that rebooted the sci-fi franchise. Star Trek Beyond starred Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Capt. James Kirk and Lt. Commander Spock, respectively.
Thornton had been a long-time employee at Paramount. He started in 1998 after leaving Landmark Entertainment Group and his executive vice president post in that firm. He worked as a VP for design and development for the majority of his employment at Paramount.
Variety said that Thornton had been instrumental to maximizing the studio's intellectual properties. He was responsible for introducing the Star Trek-themed Borg Invasion 4D. The ride was installed at the Las Vegas Hilton in 2004.
Thornton was promoted to Senior Vice President of Paramount in 2014. He updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his promotion and expressed his pleasure at his new rank in a note, the Philadelphia Inquirer said. He described the promotion as a wonderful new opportunity.