Marc-Antony Ramirez Sr. was 55 years old when he died on Friday, January 31, 2020, almost four weeks after he was found badly hurt in an alley in North Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, his death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma, and the Long Beach Police Department opened a murder investigation.
Ramirez was a Latino man and a father; the "Sr." in his name tells us he passed it on to a son. No obituary or memorial page for him could be found for this story.
According to Long Beach police, he was found unresponsive at about 1 a.m. on Sunday, January 5, 2020, in an alley in the 6700 block of Paramount Boulevard, near the Artesia Freeway. He had injuries to his upper body. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained for nearly a month before he was pronounced dead on January 31 at 10:02 a.m. The coroner's office ruled the death a homicide and notified police on Saturday, February 8, and the department announced the investigation two days later.
Because he lived for weeks after he was found, investigators started late. By the time his death was ruled a homicide, more than a month had passed since the night he was hurt, and any witnesses, video or physical evidence from the alley may already have been lost. Police did not say whether he was able to tell anyone what happened before he died, whether he was robbed, or whether anyone was seen with him that night. Early reports even differed on how he was injured: the Los Angeles Times described a stabbing, while the Medical Examiner's records list the cause as blunt force trauma.
The 6700 block of Paramount Boulevard is in North Long Beach, near the city's border with Lakewood and the 91 Freeway, an area of apartment buildings, small businesses, motels and older homes. Alleys behind the boulevard's businesses are dark and quiet in the early morning hours, which is likely why no one saw what happened.
Cases like this one, where the victim was found alone and died weeks later, are among the hardest to close.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Marc-Antony Ramirez Sr. could be found in news archives or public records. More than six years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Paramount Boulevard and the 91 Freeway in the early morning of January 5, 2020, or who knew him and saw him that weekend, may hold information that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Police asked tipsters to contact homicide Detectives Shea Robertson or Travis Harris. Anyone with information can contact the Long Beach Police Department's Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS or through the P3 Tips app.
