Michael Robert Torres was 56 years old when he died on Saturday, September 12, 2015, in Temple City. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 9612 Lower Azusa Road. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report listed him as a Latino man. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Michael Robert Torres 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 Torres is one of the most common name combinations in Southern California, and searches for it turn up hundreds of other men, including people in criminal cases in other parts of the state and obituaries from across the country. None of them can be tied to the man who died in Temple City.
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 record does give a full street address rather than a block or an intersection. That suggests he may have been found at a specific home or business on Lower Azusa Road, though the record does not say whether he lived there or what kind of building it was.
Temple City is a small city in the western San Gabriel Valley, east of Pasadena and south of Arcadia. It is largely residential, with tree-lined streets of single-family homes and a commercial strip along Las Tunas Drive. The city is known for its annual Camellia Festival and parade, and for a strong sense of community in a place where many families have lived for decades. Like many smaller cities in Los Angeles County, Temple City contracts with the Sheriff's Department for police services, which is why the case belongs to the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau. Lower Azusa Road is one of the streets that crosses the city, carrying local traffic past homes 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.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Michael Robert Torres 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. Anyone who was near Lower Azusa Road in Temple City in September 2015, or who knew Michael Robert Torres and saw him in the days before he died, 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 contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
