Margarita Padilla was 59 years old when she died on Sunday, May 17, 2009, at her home on the Westside of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 11533 National Boulevard. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's Pacific Division.
Her death drew more attention than most in the Homicide Report because of how her body was found. On June 3, 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that detectives were "investigating the slaying of a woman who was found partially buried beneath a rock slab in a shallow grave behind her West Los Angeles home." Relatives had reported her missing, and the Times said "the condition of her body indicated Padilla died of blunt-force trauma."
The Daily News, the Pasadena Star-News and the Long Beach Press-Telegram carried a short story the same day under the headline "Dogs dig up owner buried in backyard." It said she "was reported missing on May 17, and the next day her dogs, three or four, dug up her body in the back yard of her home," citing Los Angeles police Officer Karen Rayner. The two accounts differ somewhat on the exact days involved, but both describe the same discovery behind the house on National Boulevard.
The Times reported that she was last seen alive when she went to the movies with a man with whom she had a romantic relationship. The man, whom investigators would not identify, "had initially worked for Padilla," the paper said, and he "is believed to be an illegal immigrant who fled to Mexico." Officer Rayner told the Daily News that she could not confirm reports that the man was a suspect. No name for him has ever been made public, and no later story reported an arrest, a warrant or an extradition.
Beyond these reports, little about Margarita's life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found, and her name is shared by many women, including a celebrated Mexican American singer of an earlier era.
The 11500 block of National Boulevard lies in the Westside area of Los Angeles that the Homicide Report labels Sawtelle, a mix of single-family homes, apartment buildings and small businesses. The wider Sawtelle area is known for the shops and restaurants of Sawtelle Japantown, and it is close to some of the busiest freeways and boulevards on the Westside.
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 Margarita Padilla 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. Anyone who knew Margarita or the man who had worked for her, or who saw activity at the home on National Boulevard in mid-May 2009, 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.
