Steward Makeba Woodruff was 62 years old when he died on Friday, December 29, 2017, in downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 522 S. San Pedro St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Central Area case.
The coroner's records describe him as a Black man in his early 60s. The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave only his age, the date and the address.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Steward Makeba Woodruff 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. His name is unusual, and searches for it return almost nothing.
One small record may refer to him. A Donate Life rose dedication garden, an online memorial honoring organ and tissue donors, lists a Steward Woodruff of California, with the note that "LAC + USC Medical Center dedicates this rose in appreciation of your generous gift of life." LAC+USC is the county hospital that treats many people injured downtown. Nothing in the listing confirms that it refers to the man who died on San Pedro Street, but if it does, it suggests that he may have been an organ or tissue donor.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was beaten in a fight, attacked by a stranger, assaulted indoors or on the street, or struck by a vehicle, all of which can lead to a finding of blunt force trauma. It does not say what time of day he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
The 500 block of South San Pedro Street lies in the heart of Skid Row, the area of downtown Los Angeles with one of the largest concentrations of unhoused people in the United States. The blocks around it are lined with missions, shelters, single-room occupancy hotels and service agencies, and tents and makeshift shelters often fill the sidewalks. Violence there often goes unreported, and people who see something may be reluctant to talk to police.
By the mid-2010s Los Angeles was recording roughly 250 to 300 homicides a year, among the lowest totals in decades, yet many of those killings still went unsolved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Steward Makeba Woodruff could be found in news archives or public records. More than eight years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew him, who stayed at a shelter or hotel near Fifth and San Pedro streets, or who was in that part of Skid Row in late December 2017 may hold information that could help detectives. 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.
