Amigo Vandon Burton was 56 years old when he died on Friday, July 10, 2015, in the Florence area of South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 8211 S. Broadway. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department 77th Street Area case.
Unlike many of the deaths in this series, the basic circumstances of his were made public, along with the identity of the person police believed was involved. According to LAPD Det. Eric Crosson, quoted in the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, Burton got into a dispute with his nephew shortly before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8. The nephew had argued with Burton's girlfriend, and Burton was confronting him when the nephew "allegedly punched him in the face." Burton fell to the ground and hit his head. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead two days later at 3 p.m., according to coroner's records. His death was ruled a homicide resulting from blunt force trauma.
The case did not go to court. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, as reported by the Times, prosecutors declined to file charges against the nephew "based on insufficient evidence." The nephew's name was not made public. A single punch that causes a fatal fall can lead to a charge of manslaughter rather than murder, but proving what happened in a family argument can be difficult, especially if witnesses give differing accounts, and the record does not say which questions prosecutors could not answer.
Beyond those facts, almost nothing about Amigo Vandon Burton has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found, and no other news report about his death appears to have been published. His name is an unusual one, which makes it all the more striking that so little about his life can be found. He had a girlfriend and family, including the nephew, but the record says nothing about his work, his history or how long he had lived in the area.
Florence is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles that takes its name from Florence Avenue. It is a working-class area of small single-family homes and apartment buildings, with shops and businesses along its main streets. Broadway runs north and south through the neighborhood and is one of the main corridors of South Los Angeles.
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.
The case of Amigo Vandon Burton differs from most unsolved killings. Police said who they believed struck him, and the district attorney's office reviewed the case and decided not to file charges.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Amigo Vandon Burton 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 the 8200 block of South Broadway on the afternoon of July 8, 2015, and saw the argument or the fall, may hold information that could help detectives. The Times report asked anyone with information to call the LAPD's Criminal Gang Homicide Division at 786-5113. 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.
