On Wednesday, August 28, 2013, fifty-three-year-old Solomon Bucknor died in Los Angeles County, California. Born on November 17, 1959, he was pronounced dead early that afternoon at approximately 1:04 p.m. His body was located outdoors along a roadway, prompting an immediate response from county emergency responders and law enforcement.
Following the discovery, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner conducted an autopsy, cataloging the case under file number 2013-06044. Following their forensic examination, medical examiners determined the official cause of death to be asphyxia and other factors, formally certifying the manner of death as a homicide.
Investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department searched for witnesses and examined physical evidence from the roadway where Bucknor was found. Asphyxiation homicides frequently present intricate forensic and investigative challenges, requiring detectives to reconstruct the victim's final movements and interactions leading up to the fatal encounter. However, authorities encountered a dearth of leads regarding what led to the altercation or who was present at the scene.
Throughout 2013, hundreds of violent deaths were documented across the expansive jurisdictions of Los Angeles County. In many homicide cases handled by the Sheriff’s Department, investigators rely heavily on neighborhood residents, passersby, or associates of the victim to provide crucial information that could point toward a motive. Despite detective outreach, public updates on the case remained virtually nonexistent, and no suspect descriptions or potential motives were ever released to the public.
More than a decade has passed since Solomon Bucknor was found dead on an August afternoon, and the investigation remains an open and unsolved cold case. No individuals have been arrested, charged, or identified as suspects in connection with his killing. Detectives continue to ask anyone who has information regarding Bucknor's death or his whereabouts in August 2013 to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau.
