Malaysia Dechelle Anna Mcelwee was just 1 year old when she died on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, in Hawthorne. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 4191 W. El Segundo Blvd. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau case.
She was a Black toddler, little more than a baby. Beyond her name, her age and the address in the coroner's record, almost nothing about Malaysia 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 her death. She surely had parents, relatives and others who loved her and still remember her, but none of that has entered the public record. Her name is distinctive, with two middle names, yet searches for it turned up nothing beyond the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report entry.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances of her death remain unknown to the public. The record does not say who was caring for her when she was hurt, whether she was injured at the El Segundo Boulevard address or brought there, whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, or how long before her death the injuries were inflicted. A finding of homicide by blunt force trauma in a child this young means the coroner concluded that her injuries were caused by another person and were not accidental. The record does not say whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
The coroner's record gives an exact street address on a major boulevard. That suggests she may have been found at a home or other building along El Segundo Boulevard, but the record does not say what kind of building it was or whether she lived there.
Hawthorne is a city in the South Bay region of southwestern Los Angeles County, a few miles east of Los Angeles International Airport. It grew up around the aircraft industry in the mid-20th century and is known as the hometown of the Beach Boys and for the Hawthorne Municipal Airport. Much of the city is made up of apartment buildings and modest single-family homes, with busy commercial boulevards such as El Segundo Boulevard and Hawthorne Boulevard running through it.
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 Malaysia Dechelle Anna Mcelwee 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 lived near the 4100 block of West El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne in early August 2012, or who knew Malaysia and her family and the people who cared for her that summer, 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.
