Agnes Alene Bratton was 79 years old when she died on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, in Bell Gardens. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 6303 Gotham St. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
Bell Gardens police officers went to the home after a 911 call. "Officers from Bell Gardens arrived at the location following a 911 call," sheriff's Deputy Ed Hernandez told the Daily News. "They found a 79-year-old victim suffering from apparent blunt force injuries and an adult male, believed to be her son, suffering from what is believed to be self-inflicted injuries." She was found at about 10:15 a.m. and died at the scene.
The man was taken to a hospital. According to a KTLA report, he was a 53-year-old son who lived with her, and he was found bleeding from apparent self-inflicted knife wounds. Investigators said they were examining whether he had beaten his mother to death and then tried to take his own life, and the station described the case as an apparent failed murder-suicide. His name was not released. "It is tragic circumstances, obviously," sheriff's Lt. Patrick Nelson said. "And if there were mental health issues, it's very unfortunate that whatever treatment he may have received apparently wasn't sufficient."
Those early reports are the last public word on the investigation. No later story could be found saying whether the son recovered, whether he was arrested or charged, or whether a court ever ruled on his mental state. Because he was never named and no court case could be found, the question of who was responsible for her death has never been publicly answered.
Her life left a few traces in public records. An obituary notice was published in the Los Angeles Times days after her death, with arrangements handled by Allen-English and Estrada Funeral Service on Eastern Avenue in Bell Gardens. Find a Grave lists Agnes Alene Bratton, born in 1930 and died in 2009, among the family members of Monroe Benjamin Bratton, a Bell Gardens resident who died in 1977 at age 94, which suggests her family had roots in the city going back decades.
Bell Gardens is a small, densely populated city in southeast Los Angeles County, one of the Gateway Cities between downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach. It is largely a working-class community of modest houses and apartment buildings, and it is perhaps best known for the Bicycle Hotel and Casino. The Daily News described the 6300 block of Gotham Street as a residential neighborhood bordering John Anson Ford Park, one of the city's main parks.
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 Agnes Alene Bratton could be found in news archives or public records. More than 16 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Neighbors on Gotham Street, relatives and anyone who knew the household in October 2009 may know what happened to the case after that morning. 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.
