Peter John Martinez was 41 years old when he died on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, in West Adams. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma near the 2500 block of Rimpau Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by West Bureau Homicide.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report listed him as a white man. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Peter John Martinez 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. Peter Martinez is a very common name, and searches for it, even with the middle name John, turn up dozens of other men, among them a teacher in Texas, a bus driver in Guam and men whose obituaries were published in several states, none of whom can be tied to the man who died in West Adams.
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 places his death near a block of Rimpau Avenue rather than at a specific address, which suggests that he may have been hurt or found outdoors, on or near the street, though the record does not say so.
West Adams is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, lying southwest of downtown. It is known for its historic Craftsman and Victorian homes, many of them built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, along with tree-lined residential streets, churches and small apartment buildings. The area has been home for generations to working families and long-time residents, and in recent years it has seen new development and rising rents. Homicides in that part of the city are investigated by detectives assigned to the LAPD's West Bureau.
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 Peter John Martinez could be found in news archives or public records. More than 11 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Rimpau Avenue in West Adams in early December 2014, or who knew Peter John Martinez and the people he spent time with, may hold information that could help 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.
