Rafael Rosales was 55 years old when he died on Monday, November 10, 2008, two days after he was assaulted in downtown Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at Pacific Avenue and West 5th Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report said that deputies from the Sheriff's Department's Transit Services Bureau "responded to the morning assault." Rosales was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and he was pronounced "death imminent" at about 7:40 a.m. He died two days later. The Los Angeles County coroner's office said his death was the result of an intracranial hemorrhage, bleeding inside the skull of the kind that often follows a hard blow to the head or a fall.
The report did not say what led to the assault, whether Rosales knew the person who attacked him, or whether anyone was seen running from the area. No follow-up appears to have been published, and no news outlet seems to have reported on the death at the time.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he was hurt, almost nothing about Rafael Rosales has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. He surely had family, friends or co-workers who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Rafael Rosales is also a common name, and searches turn up many other men who share it, including a Milwaukee man involved in a police lawsuit and people charged with crimes in other states. One obituary describes a 55-year-old Rafael Rosales who died in Harlingen, Texas, the day after this Rafael Rosales died in Long Beach, a coincidence that shows how easily records can be confused. None of those people is connected to the man who was assaulted in Long Beach.
Pacific Avenue runs north and south through downtown Long Beach, a busy area of offices, apartments, shops and government buildings near the waterfront. The Metro Blue Line, now called the A Line, has long ended its run from downtown Los Angeles with a loop through downtown Long Beach. The Sheriff's Department's Transit Services Bureau patrolled the Metro system at the time, and the fact that its deputies answered the call suggests that the assault may have happened on or near the rail line or a station, although the report does not say so. That would also explain why the case belongs to the Sheriff's Department rather than the Long Beach Police 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 Rafael Rosales 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. Anyone who was riding the train or walking near Pacific Avenue and 5th Street on the morning of Saturday, November 8, 2008, who saw a fight or a man fall, or who knew Rafael Rosales and where he spent his days, may hold information that matters. 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.
