L.A. Times Sportswriter Penner, 52, Dead; Transsexual Reportedly Committed Suicide

November 28, 2009 8:17 p.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Veteran sportswriter Mike Penner, who hugged the headlines in 2007 after announcing he was transsexual, has died in an apparent suicide. He was 52.

Penner, who wrote for the Los Angeles Times from Oct 2007 until about March 2008, was found dead in his Los Angeles home.

The suspected cause of death is suicide.

Penner announced he was transsexual after a 2007 vacation and wrote under the name "Christine Daniels."

He switched back to the byline "Mike Penner" in the LA Times sports page starting last year.

He was married to Lisa Dillman, a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times. The couple had no children.