Jason Alexander Lopez was 22 years old when he died on Monday, October 14, 2019, in Chinatown, just north of downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma near 910 North Hill Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's Central area.
Jason was born in Pasadena on November 9, 1996, and he was just weeks short of his 23rd birthday. His family's obituary, published in the Crescenta Valley Weekly, described a young man who "graced us all with his boundless capacity for love, with the warmth and radiance of his gentle demeanor, and with his effortless ability to make you laugh." He had large brown eyes as a baby that, his family wrote, "reflected in them the wonder and beauty of the world," and he grew up telling stories and singing songs. He surrounded himself with friends who became his family, and he was "an ever loving, fiercely loyal son, grandson, brother, nephew and friend," always ready with a handshake, a hug or a smile. In his own words, he was an "advocate for the human race, for the trees, bees, polar bears and woodpeckers." He was survived by his mother, Stephanie Thornbury, his father, Gerardo Lopez, his sisters, Shelby and Sydney Lopez, and his grandmother, Juanita Lopez.
His obituary does not say how he died, and no news report about his death could be found. The public record does not say whether he was attacked in a fight, assaulted by a stranger, struck by a vehicle or hurt in some other way, what time it happened, or whether anyone was with him. It does not say whether investigators identified a suspect.
The 900 block of North Hill Street is in the heart of Chinatown, close to the Central Plaza with its pagoda-style gateways, restaurants, bakeries and galleries. In the 2010s the neighborhood became a nightlife destination, with bars and music venues drawing young people from across the city, while longtime Chinese and Southeast Asian families and elderly residents still made up much of its population. The Metro Gold Line station and Dodger Stadium are a short walk away.
Los Angeles recorded about 260 homicides in 2019, among the lowest yearly totals in more than half a century, yet many of those killings still went unsolved. The death of a young man described by his family as gentle and kind, on a busy street in Chinatown, does not appear to have drawn any public attention.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Jason Alexander Lopez could be found in news archives or public records. Nearly seven years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was in Chinatown on the night of October 13 or the early hours of October 14, 2019, or who knew Jason, may hold information that could help. 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.
