Walter Vicente, a 49-year-old resident of Norwalk, California, was tragically found dead on July 14, 2015, in his home on Gettysburg Drive. Vicente, along with his 24-year-old son Andrew, was discovered with fatal gunshot wounds. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department received a call about the bodies from one of Vicente's other sons, who had come to retrieve his car from the house. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, with Walter Vicente found in the living room and Andrew in a bedroom. The autopsies were pending at the time, and the exact time of death had not been determined. Investigators noted there were no signs of robbery or forced entry, and no weapons were found at the scene.
Walter Vicente was a U.S. Army veteran and owned a plumbing business, Walter’s Plumbing, where he worked alongside his son Andrew. The two were well-liked in their blue-collar, middle-class neighborhood, and there were no known disputes or issues involving them. Despite extensive investigations into potential business and personal disputes, vendettas, and other possibilities, no clear motive for the murders emerged. The family’s pit bull was unharmed, and the house showed no signs of a struggle, further deepening the mystery surrounding their deaths.
In the months following the murders, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the city of Norwalk offered a combined reward of $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Despite this incentive and public pleas from the Vicente family, the case remained unsolved. The Sheriff's Department continued to urge anyone with information to come forward, emphasizing the lack of any known enemies or ill will towards Walter and Andrew Vicente. The investigation was at a standstill, with authorities and the family hoping for a breakthrough that could bring justice and closure to the tragic loss of the father and son.
