Sheila Elaine Vandenalden was 65 years old when she died on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, in Sylmar. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 16079 Yarnell St. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Mission Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded her death in a single sentence: Sheila Elaine Vandenalden, "a 65-year-old black female," died that Wednesday "after sustaining blunt force trauma in Sylmar, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records." The entry gave no account of what happened to her, and no follow-up appears to have been published. The coroner listed a street address, which may mean she was hurt at or near a home, though the record does not say so.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Sheila Elaine Vandenalden 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 the death. She surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who she was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether she was beaten in a fight, attacked by a stranger, assaulted indoors or on the street, or struck by a vehicle, all of which can lead to a finding of blunt force trauma. It does not say what time of day she was hurt, whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Her surname is unusual, and that makes the silence around her death more striking. Searches for her full name return nothing but generic court and inmate search pages, with no news story, no family notice and no other person of the same name. The killing of a 65-year-old woman is rare enough that it might have been expected to draw attention, yet nothing beyond the coroner's basic facts was ever reported.
Sylmar is the northernmost neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, at the top of the San Fernando Valley, where the valley floor meets the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is known for its horse properties, mobile home parks and quiet residential streets, and it sits near the junction of the Golden State Freeway and the Antelope Valley Freeway. Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, a county hospital, is in Sylmar. The neighborhood is patrolled by the LAPD's Mission Division.
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 Sheila Elaine Vandenalden 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. Someone who lived on or near Yarnell Street in Sylmar in January 2009 may remember Sheila Vandenalden, may have noticed something unusual at her home or on her street that week, or may know who visited her. Relatives, neighbors, caregivers and friends may also know details that never reached investigators. 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.
