Donald Jo Gostel was 65 years old when he died on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, in Azusa. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 100 N. Azusa Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an Azusa Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, which draws on coroner's records, lists him as a 65-year-old white man and gives no other details about how he was hurt. No news story about his death could be found.
An online obituary listing for a Donald J. Gostel appears on Legacy.com through the Queen of Heaven cemetery in Rowland Heights, in the San Gabriel Valley not far from Azusa. The surname is rare and the middle initial matches, which suggests the listing is his, though the saved excerpt gives no dates or written tribute. A 2002 obituary in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for a woman named Rosalia Gostel, who was buried at the same cemetery, listed among her survivors a son named Donald Gostel of West Covina. It is possible that this was the same man, but no record confirms it.
Beyond those listings, almost nothing about his life has been made public. No family fundraiser, vigil or news profile could be found, and nothing public describes his work, his friends or how long he had lived in the area. He surely had people who remember who he was, but little of that has entered the public record.
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.
Azusa is a city at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, where the San Gabriel River leaves its canyon and enters the valley. It is home to Azusa Pacific University, and it is served by stations on Metro's light rail line through the foothills. Azusa Avenue is the city's main north-south street, running through the older downtown core of shops, restaurants and civic buildings. The address where Gostel was hurt lies on that central stretch, in an area that sees steady traffic and foot traffic.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. The death of Donald Jo Gostel does not appear to have drawn any news coverage at the time.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Donald Jo Gostel 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 was on Azusa Avenue in downtown Azusa in early October 2017, or who knew Donald Jo Gostel and the people he spent time with, may hold information that could help investigators. 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 contact the Azusa Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
