Marie Esther Goree was 49 years old when she died on Friday, July 11, 2008, three years after an assault that left her paralyzed. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, her death was caused by blunt force trauma, and the coroner's records list her location as 979 Woodbury Road in Altadena. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, drawing on coroner's records, said she died "three years after an assault by her husband left her quadriplegic." According to those records, Goree "had never been released from the hospital after she was injured in the 2005 attack." She was first treated at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and died at Little Company of Mary Hospital. The report described her as an Asian woman of 49. It did not name her husband or say whether he was arrested or charged after the 2005 attack.
Her family published an obituary in the Orange County Register under the name Marie Esther Arboleda Goree. It said she "went home to be with our Lord on 7/11/08" and described her as the "beloved daughter of Tony and Miyoko Arboleda" and the sister of Jane and Linda. She was also the mother of a daughter, who was 19 at the time. Born on Aug. 10, 1958, she graduated from Cal State Long Beach. She "was employed by the City of Los Angeles for 25 years and last worked as a senior management analyst for the Dept. of Public Works." The obituary closed: "Esther will forever be remembered for her beautiful smile, dimples and courage. She will be missed by her family and friends." Private services were held.
Property records list the Woodbury Road address under her name, which suggests that it was her home. The available records do not say whether the 2005 attack happened there.
Altadena is an unincorporated community of about 40,000 people at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, just north of Pasadena. It is known for its tree-lined residential streets, older homes on large lots and trails leading into the Angeles National Forest. Because it is not an incorporated city, it is policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Woodbury Road is one of its east-west residential streets.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. When a victim of an assault dies years later from the injuries, the coroner may rule the death a homicide, which can open the way for new or more serious charges. Whether that happened in this case is not known.
No murder charge or court case connected to the death of Marie Esther Goree could be found in news archives or public records, and no public record could be found showing what happened to the husband the coroner's records described as her attacker. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Esther and her family in Altadena in 2005, or who knows what became of the case after the attack, may hold information that could help 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.
