Robert Taylor Bragg was 74 years old when he died on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, in Inglewood. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at Manchester Boulevard and 7th Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an Inglewood Police Department case.
The coroner's records describe him as a Black man in his mid-70s, and they place his death at a street intersection rather than at a numbered address, which suggests he may have been hurt or found outdoors, though the record does not say so. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Robert Taylor Bragg 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. Searches for his full name are dominated by a much younger man of the same name in Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose criminal case became part of a well-known fight over tribal jurisdiction that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. That man has no connection to the death in Inglewood.
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.
Men in their 70s are rarely homicide victims. He may have been hurt in a robbery, a dispute or an attack by a stranger, but none of that has been confirmed, and Inglewood police do not appear to have released any public statement about the case.
Inglewood is a city of roughly 100,000 people in the southwestern part of Los Angeles County, just east of Los Angeles International Airport. For decades it was best known as the home of the Forum and the Hollywood Park racetrack, whose land later became the site of SoFi Stadium. Manchester Boulevard is one of the city's main east-west streets, lined with shops, churches, apartment buildings and small businesses.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. Smaller city police departments such as Inglewood's handle their own homicide investigations, and a killing that draws no press coverage can easily fade from public view within weeks.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Robert Taylor Bragg 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. Someone who was near Manchester Boulevard and 7th Avenue in Inglewood in February 2016, or who knew Robert Bragg and saw him in the days before he died, may hold information that has never reached 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 Inglewood Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
