Vadim Kogan was 48 years old when he died on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, three days after he was beaten in Koreatown. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma in the 4300 block of West 3rd Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the Wilshire Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave a short account based on information from the police. "Officials received a battery call Aug. 1 about 2:59 a.m.," the Times reported. "When police arrived, Kogan was already being treated by paramedics and was taken to Cedars Sinai hospital for treatment." He died three days later. At first the coroner's office listed his age as 45, and the Times later corrected it to 48.
Police released almost nothing about the person who hurt him. "Kogan's assailant was identified as male, but no other details are available at this time," the Times wrote. Detectives did not say whether the two men knew each other, whether there had been an argument, whether anything was taken or whether anyone else saw the attack. The hour of the call, just before 3 a.m., suggests the attack happened in the middle of the night, when few people would have been on the street, but the record does not say how the police were alerted.
A local news site, Koreatown LA News, later listed his death in its timeline of the neighborhood's major stories of 2012, noting that he "dies three days after being beaten in the 4300 block of West 3rd Street by an unidentified male." Beyond those brief accounts, almost nothing about Vadim has been made public. No obituary or memorial page for him could be found. Searches for his name turned up other men named Vadim Kogan, including a former lifeguard in New York and men whose obituaries appeared in other states, none of whom is the man who died in Los Angeles.
Koreatown lies west of downtown Los Angeles, between Hollywood to the north and the Mid-City area to the south. It is one of the most densely populated parts of the city, packed with apartment buildings, restaurants, karaoke bars, markets and nightlife that keeps going long after midnight. Third Street is one of its main east-west corridors, lined with apartments, offices and shops.
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 Vadim Kogan 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 near the 4300 block of West 3rd Street in the early hours of Aug. 1, 2012, who heard a fight or saw a man hurt there, or who knew Vadim and his whereabouts that night, may hold information that could help. At the time, the Times asked anyone with information to contact LAPD West Bureau Det. R. Rodriquez at 382-9472 or Det. D. Vinton at 382-9476. 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.
