Angel David Grajiola was twenty-two years old when his life was cut short in the late summer of 2013. Born on October 2, 1990, Grajiola, who was also known among family as Angel David Reyes Grajiola, was a young Latino male whose sudden passing devastated loved ones and left his community searching for answers. Following his death, family members gathered in West Covina to mourn and honor his memory, holding services through Funeraria del Angel. Yet behind the quiet grief of his memorial was an unsettling mystery that has never been brought to a courtroom.
On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was drawn into a homicide investigation under alarming circumstances. In the early morning hours, around 3:45 a.m., a sheriff's deputy was patrolling through a canyon area along East Covina Hills Road near East Via Verde Street in unincorporated Covina. The secluded stretch of roadway traverses a hilly, rural pocket bordered by ravines and sparse hillside residences, an area that is dark and isolated late at night. As the deputy drove along the canyon route, he spotted a body burning on the side of the road and immediately stopped to extinguish the flames with a portable fire extinguisher.
Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department quickly responded to take over the crime scene. Lieutenant John Corina briefed the public that morning from the roadside, confirming that a burning body had been discovered discarded along the roadway. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner took custody of the remains, initially classifying the cause of death under county records as other and withholding further sensitive forensic details while investigators worked to piece together what had transpired. Although authorities preserved the site and initiated an intensive search for physical clues or discarded evidence along the roadside corridor, the secluded location provided few immediate answers.
The sheriff's department appealed to the public for anyone who might have seen unusual vehicles or individuals lingering near East Covina Hills Road during the predawn hours of August 20 to come forward. Investigators sought information about Grajiola's movements and associates in the hours leading up to that morning, hoping to determine where the crime occurred before his body was left on the roadside. In 2013, Los Angeles County recorded hundreds of homicides, stretching investigative resources and leaving difficult canyon-dump cases particularly vulnerable to going cold when physical evidence was degraded by fire.
More than a decade later, the killing of Angel David Grajiola remains unsolved. No suspects or persons of interest have ever been publicly named by law enforcement, and no arrests or charges have been made in connection with his death. Investigators continue to urge anyone who might have information regarding the events of August 20, 2013, or anyone with details about Grajiola’s activities prior to his death, to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 890-5500 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.
