Noah Anthony Baker was 1 year old when he died on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, in North Hollywood. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 11459 Collins St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Abused Child Unit case, handled by the unit's North Valley detectives.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded only the barest facts about him: his name, his age, his gender, the date and place of his death and the cause. It did not publish a story about him.
The agency listed in the record is the most telling detail. The LAPD's Abused Child Unit investigates deaths and serious injuries of young children when abuse or neglect is suspected. That the case was assigned there, rather than to a regular homicide unit, suggests that investigators may have believed from the start that the injuries were inflicted by someone responsible for his care. The public record does not say who was looking after him, who called for help, or whether he was hurt at the Collins Street address or brought there.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Noah 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 his death. A child of that age has no public life of his own, and the people who knew him best were his family, whose names do not appear in the record.
His name is a common one, and searches for it turn up many other people, including a fictional character on a television drama, a podcast host, a wildfire communications specialist in Arizona and men whose obituaries were published in other states. None of them has any connection to the little boy who died in North Hollywood.
The record does not say when he was hurt, how long he survived, or whether he died at home or at a hospital. It does not say whether anyone was questioned or arrested. Cases like his are sometimes resolved quietly in juvenile or criminal court without news coverage, but no arrest or court case tied to his death could be found.
North Hollywood lies in the southeastern San Fernando Valley, north of the Hollywood Hills. It is known for the NoHo Arts District, with its small theaters, galleries and studios, and for the busy transit hub at Lankershim Boulevard and Chandler Boulevard. Away from the main corridors, its streets are lined with apartment buildings and small single-family homes.
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 Noah Anthony Baker could be found in news archives or public records. More than 15 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Neighbors on Collins Street in February 2010, relatives, babysitters, doctors or anyone who saw signs that the boy was being hurt 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
