Kenneth Monroe Jackson was 55 years old when he died on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, after an assault in the Oakwood section of Venice. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's West Bureau Homicide unit.
His case is unusual because he did not die where he was hurt. According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, police found his body at about 2:30 a.m. that Wednesday on the 1500 block of Fifth Street in Santa Monica, near his apartment. The paper reported that "it appeared he was killed by blunt force trauma to the head" and that there were no suspects. Kenneth lived on the fourth floor of the Step Up on 5th building, which, the paper said, "provides stable housing for adults suffering from mental health issues." The paper gave his age as 56.
Detectives came to believe that the attack happened in Venice, near the intersection of Vernon Avenue and Hampton Drive, late in the evening of November 29. Witnesses said the fight involved an African American man of unknown age. Kenneth then left the area and somehow made it to Santa Monica, but investigators did not know how. Because the altercation happened in Oakwood, LAPD homicide detectives took the case. "It's tough when the victim ends up somewhere else," Detective S. Kinchla told the Daily Press. "We have to piece it together."
A neighbor, Austria Giancarlo, told the paper she had spoken with him the day before he was found. "I just remember the sad look in his eyes," she said. "He was just a regular guy, you know. He had his issues with liquor and drugs." No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story.
Oakwood is a small, historically Black neighborhood on the east side of Venice, a few blocks inland from the famous boardwalk and beach. For decades it was one of the few places on the Westside where Black families could buy homes, and it has long had close-knit churches and families. By 2016 it was changing fast, as tech companies, including Google's Venice office a block from where police believe the fight took place, drew new money into the area. Santa Monica's Fifth Street, where he was found, lies just north of the Venice line, which suggests he may have walked or been carried a considerable distance while injured.
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 Kenneth Monroe Jackson could be found in news archives or public records. More than nine years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Vernon Avenue and Hampton Drive in Venice on the night of November 29, 2016, who saw a hurt man traveling toward Santa Monica, or who knew Kenneth, may hold information that could help detectives. The Daily Press listed the LAPD West Bureau Homicide number as 213-473-0277. 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.
