Kae'Mari Christopher Lewis died on Saturday, September 26, 2020. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died from blunt force trauma, and his death was ruled a homicide. The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report lists him as a Black male, but it gives no age and no location for where he was hurt.
The case was assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department's Abused Child Unit, which investigates the deaths and serious injuries of children, particularly young children harmed by the adults responsible for their care. That assignment strongly suggests that Kae'Mari was a young child, and that detectives believed he was hurt by someone who should have been protecting him.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Kae'Mari Christopher Lewis has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
The public record leaves almost every question unanswered. It does not say how old he was, where he lived, who was caring for him when he was hurt, whether he was taken to a hospital, or how long he lived after his injuries. Deaths of young children from blunt force trauma are often the result of abuse inside the home, but sometimes they follow accidents that are later found to be something else, and only a full investigation can tell the difference. When the Medical Examiner rules such a death a homicide, it means another person caused it.
Child abuse deaths are among the hardest cases for investigators. The only witnesses are often the adults who were present, and young children cannot describe what happened to them before they die. Medical evidence can show that a child was hurt, but not always who did it or when. In 2020, many children were also cut off from teachers, doctors and others who normally notice signs of abuse, because schools and many services had shut down during the pandemic. Child welfare advocates warned at the time that abuse was going unreported as a result.
Homicides rose sharply across Los Angeles County in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, after years of relatively low numbers, and detectives were stretched across a growing caseload. Many of those killings were shootings that drew at least brief coverage on local television.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Kae'Mari Christopher Lewis could be found in news archives or public records, although cases involving child victims are sometimes handled with little public attention. As far as the public record shows, no one has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Kae'Mari or his family, or who has information about how he was hurt, can help make sure his death is not forgotten. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
