Anita Henderson was 51 years old when she died on Thursday, November 8, 2012, at her home in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 2121 S. Redondo Boulevard. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's West Bureau Homicide unit.
According to the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, Anita "was struck in the head and killed." Patrol officers found her lying in her driveway with head trauma at about 5 p.m., police said, and Los Angeles Fire Department rescue personnel pronounced her dead at the scene. Authorities had yet to identify a suspect or a motive, the Times reported, and they asked local businesses and residents for any surveillance video from the day of the crime.
NBC Los Angeles added more detail. Her body was discovered by her husband when he returned home, said Officer Sara Faden of the LAPD's Media Relations Section. She had suffered "apparent head trauma," police said. Homicide investigators had neither a suspect nor a motive, but they said they found signs of a struggle inside the home. It did not appear that any valuables had been taken, and it did not appear that anyone had broken in, said LAPD Detective Mark Morgan.
Those details narrow the picture without answering the central question. Signs of a struggle inside the house, with no forced entry and nothing taken, suggest that her attacker may have been let in or may already have had a way in, and that robbery may not have been the motive. But police did not say that publicly, and no suspect was ever named. It is also not known how she came to be found in the driveway after a struggle that apparently began indoors.
Beyond those facts, little about Anita Henderson's life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. Her name is shared by a number of other women, among them a Los Angeles physician and an author coach, which makes searches for her especially difficult.
Mid-City is a largely residential area in the central part of Los Angeles, made up of older single-family homes, duplexes and small apartment buildings, crossed by busy commercial corridors such as Pico, Venice and Washington boulevards. Many of its blocks have long-time homeowners who know their neighbors. A woman killed at her own home in the late afternoon, on a street where people come and go from work and school, is the kind of event that neighbors notice.
Homicides in Los Angeles fell steeply in the late 2000s and early 2010s, yet many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Anita Henderson could be found in news archives or public records. More than 13 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on South Redondo Boulevard on November 8, 2012, who saw someone arrive at or leave the Henderson home that day, or who knew Anita, may hold information that could help. The Times listed the detectives' number as 213-382-9470. 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.
