Dario Rosas Jr. was 57 years old when he died on Sunday, July 19, 2015, in Mission Hills. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma in the 11300 block of Acala Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Mission Area case.
He was attacked outside his own home the night before. At about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, he drove home and parked his 1997 Toyota RAV4. According to an LAPD news release cited by the Los Angeles Times, "a short time later, Rosas was attacked and beaten by a man described only as a Latino. The man then got into Rosas' car and drove away." He had been returning, NBC Los Angeles reported, from one of his two jobs.
A neighbor who heard him scream ran outside. "It was just kind of like an awful scream for help," the neighbor told NBC Los Angeles, and he found Rosas on the ground bleeding from a gash on his head. "He was just grasping for air," the neighbor said. He was taken to a hospital, where, according to coroner's records, he was pronounced dead at 8:46 the next morning. His SUV was later found in Panorama City and impounded for evidence. Police said it was not clear whether he knew his attacker.
Rosas worked as a security guard at Encino Hospital, ABC7 reported, and neighbors described him as a kind, friendly man who lived a quiet life with his elderly mother. His sister, Virginia Kelly, said he cared for their mother. "He didn't bother anybody. He just took care of my mom and now my mom is devastated," she told ABC7. The family told CBS Los Angeles they believed it was a random attack and that he had no enemies. His obituary in the Daily News said he was survived by his mother, Rosalie Rosas, his sister, a brother-in-law, nieces, a nephew and an aunt and uncle, and that he would be laid to rest at Mission Hills Cemetery.
In September 2016 the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion by Councilmembers Felipe Fuentes and Marqueece Harris-Dawson concerning the "person responsible for the death of Dario Rosas on July 18, 2015," which suggests that the city offered a reward for information in the case.
Acala Avenue lies in the northeast San Fernando Valley, near the border between the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mission Hills and the separate city of San Fernando, and news reports described the attack as happening in San Fernando. The area is mostly residential.
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 Dario Rosas Jr. 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 Acala Avenue on the night of July 18, 2015, or who saw a 1997 Toyota RAV4 left in Panorama City, may hold information that could help detectives. Police asked anyone with information to call Det. Gene Parshall of the Mission Homicide Unit at 838-9954. 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.
