On Thursday, October 3, 2013, the brief life of Damarcus Mason McLaurin came to a sudden and tragic end in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of South Los Angeles. Damarcus, an African American infant who was under one year old, died in the vicinity of Imperial Highway and South Figueroa Street. The incident took place at a busy transit and commercial junction where south Los Angeles corridors intersect beneath major freeway overpasses and active surface streets.
First responders and law enforcement were summoned to the scene near Imperial Highway and Figueroa Street, where the baby was discovered. Despite the arrival of emergency medical personnel, the child did not survive and was pronounced deceased that Thursday. Because of the nature of the circumstances surrounding the death, the case was immediately turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department and coroner authorities for a criminal investigation.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner examined the child to determine how he died. In public coroner records, the official cause of death was listed only under the broad designation of "other," with specific physical findings and toxicology details withheld from public release. Investigators did not make public whether the fatal trauma involved intentional asphyxiation, severe neglect, or other non-accidental trauma, keeping critical evidentiary details strictly confidential as detectives pursued potential leads.
Jurisdiction over the homicide investigation was assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department's Criminal Gang Homicide Division, the specialized unit handling homicides throughout the LAPD's South Bureau. Detectives from the division initiated an inquiry into the child's living arrangements, guardians, and the individuals who were responsible for his care at the time he died. While the assignment to that division reflected the investigative structure of South Bureau homicides in Vermont Vista, detectives faced significant challenges in securing conclusive physical evidence or public testimony.
The year 2013 was a period that saw hundreds of homicides across Los Angeles County, with South Los Angeles communities bearing a disproportionate share of the violence and trauma. Cases involving the death of an infant remain among the most devastating for local neighborhoods and homicide investigators alike. Despite extensive departmental resources and inquiries into who had custody of the infant at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Figueroa Street, no suspects were publicly identified, no charges were filed by prosecutors, and no arrests were announced.
More than a decade after his death, the homicide of Damarcus Mason McLaurin remains completely unsolved. Detectives continue to appeal for anyone with knowledge about the circumstances of the child's death, his caretakers, or the events of October 3, 2013, near Imperial Highway and Figueroa Street to come forward with information to help bring closure to the cold case.
