Jimmie White Buffalo, a 34-year-old Native American man, was found dead on November 17, 1978, in Los Angeles, California. His body was discovered in a parking lot, having been stabbed repeatedly in the upper torso with a long-bladed knife. The brutal nature of the attack and the location of the body suggested a targeted and violent assault. At the time of his death, Jimmie White Buffalo became the ninth known victim in a string of killings that terrorized the Skid Row area of Los Angeles during the fall of 1978.
The series of murders was attributed to a serial killer later dubbed the “Skid Row Stabber.” The victims, many of whom were homeless or transient men, were attacked within a concentrated area of about fifteen blocks. The killings bore signs of ritualistic or symbolic violence, with some scenes featuring messages scrawled in blood. The murder of 34-year-old Native American man Jimmie White Buffalo fit the pattern of these crimes, both in method and location.
Eventually, suspicion and investigation led to the arrest of Bobby Joe Maxwell, who was charged in connection with the Skid Row Stabber killings. Maxwell, who had a history of mental illness and was known to frequent the same areas as the victims, was convicted in 1984 on two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. However, his conviction was later overturned in 2010 due to concerns about the reliability of the evidence used against him, including the use of a jailhouse informant whose testimony was later discredited.
Despite the arrest and initial conviction of Bobby Joe Maxwell, the full extent of his involvement in the murder of 34-year-old Native American man Jimmie White Buffalo remains uncertain. The case highlights the challenges of prosecuting serial crimes, especially when vulnerable populations are targeted and when early investigative missteps may compromise the integrity of the evidence. To this day, questions linger about whether justice was fully served in the death of Jimmie White Buffalo and the other victims of the Skid Row Stabber.
