Kathleen Anita Pope was 52 years old when she died on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008, in Pomona. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 612 East Alvarado Street. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Pomona Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded only the most basic facts about her death: her name, her age, the date, the address and the cause. It described her as a white woman of 52. It did not say how she was hurt, whether the address was her home, or whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital.
The only other public trace of her death is a list of Pomona homicide victims kept by a community Facebook page, "Pomona, Let's Take Our Hometown Back," which set out to "put a human face on the murders in Pomona." The list includes her name, her age, the date and the Alvarado Street address. Its cause column reads only "Unspecified."
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Kathleen Anita Pope 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. Searches for her name turned up only namesakes, among them women whose obituaries were published in Wisconsin, Georgia, Minnesota and Colorado. None of those pages concerns the woman who died in Pomona.
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.
Pomona is one of the largest cities in eastern Los Angeles County, with about 150,000 residents. It is known as the home of the Fairplex, where the Los Angeles County Fair is held each year, and of Cal Poly Pomona. The city grew up around citrus groves and the railroad, and its older neighborhoods near downtown are made up of early 20th century houses, apartment buildings and small businesses. East Alvarado Street is one of the city's residential streets.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. Her death was recorded in the Homicide Report with a single sentence.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Kathleen Anita Pope 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 lived on or near East Alvarado Street in Pomona in August 2008, or who knew Kathleen as a neighbor, friend or relative, 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 contact the Pomona Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
