Ruffalo Brother's Death Ruled a Homicide

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Ruffalo Brother's Death Ruled a Homicide

Wed., Dec. 17, 2008 6:00 PM PST by Natalie Finn

Amy Graves/Getty Images

So much for Russian roulette.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has ruled the death of Mark Ruffalo's 39-year-old brother, Scott, a homicide.

Ruffalo died in the hospital Dec. 8, a week after being discovered in his Beverly Hills apartment with a gunshot wound to the head. Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said Wednesday that their investigation has determined that someone else shot him.

Police arrested a suspect, 26-year-old Shaha Mishaal Adha, on Dec. 9, but she was released and cleared of playing a role in Scott's death less than two days after turning herself in for question.

Adha's attorney, Ronald Richards, made the media rounds soon after, describing the incident as a case of Russian roulette gone awry. Scott Ruffalo was a habitual drug user, Richards said, and was "under the use of controlled substances" the night he was mortally wounded.

No other suspects have been named publicly.

According to TMZ.com, a 29-year-old man was also arrested an booked on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the crime a day after Scott was hospitalized, but he was released less than three days later without being charged.