Rochelle Chevalier was 49 years old when she died on Wednesday, December 17, 2008, in the unincorporated Santa Susana Mountains area of Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 21260 Mayan Drive. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded her death in a single sentence: Rochelle Chevalier, "a 49-year-old white female," died that Wednesday "after sustaining blunt force trauma in Unincorporated Santa Susana Mountains, 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.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Rochelle Chevalier 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.
Searches for her name turn up several other women called Rochelle Chevalier, including a woman living in England who is named in family obituaries from New York, a woman named in a Minnesota court report, a returned missionary mentioned in a 2009 community newspaper, and characters in works of fiction. None of those records is connected to the woman who died in the Santa Susana Mountains in 2008, and that makes the trail harder for anyone trying to learn more about her.
The Santa Susana Mountains rise along the northwestern edge of the San Fernando Valley, separating it from the Simi Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley, and they stretch across the line into Ventura County. The unincorporated pockets of the range near the valley are rugged and lightly populated, with homes scattered along winding roads, ranch land and open hillsides. Because these areas are not part of any city, they are policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
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 Rochelle Chevalier could be found in news archives or public records. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Someone who lived on or near Mayan Drive in December 2008 or who knew who Rochelle Chevalier lived with or spent time with, may hold information that matters. Family members and old friends may also know details that were never shared with 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 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.
