Michael Francis Williams was 66 years old when he died on Saturday, December 12, 2015, in Watts. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 1413 E. Imperial Hwy. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Criminal Gang Homicide Division case.
The coroner's records describe him as a Black man in his mid-60s. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Michael Francis Williams 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. Michael Williams is one of the most common names in the United States, and searches for his full name are dominated by an unrelated film and television director who shares it exactly, along with lawyers, defendants in other states and obituaries of other men, so whatever trace he left online is buried beneath theirs.
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 case was assigned to the LAPD's Criminal Gang Homicide Division, the South Bureau unit that handles most killings in Watts and the surrounding area. The assignment reflects where he died and does not by itself mean that gangs were involved; the division investigates many deaths in its territory regardless of motive. How he came to be hurt has never been confirmed.
Watts is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles with a long and proud history. It is home to the Watts Towers, the soaring folk-art sculptures built by Simon Rodia over more than three decades, and it is remembered nationally for the 1965 uprising that drew attention to poverty and police relations in the city. The neighborhood includes several large public housing developments and many blocks of small homes, churches and corner businesses. Imperial Highway is one of the major east-west roads of southern Los Angeles County, carrying traffic past homes, shops and bus stops through the neighborhood.
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 Michael Francis Williams could be found in news archives or public records. More than ten years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Someone who was near the 1400 block of East Imperial Highway in Watts in December 2015, or who knew Michael Williams 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
