David Ronald Patton was 54 years old when he died on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007, in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at a location that was never made public. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Newton Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single line: David Ronald Patton, "a 54-year-old white male," died that Sunday "after sustaining blunt force trauma." The entry gave no street, no account of what happened and no detective's name, and no follow-up appears to have been published.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about David Ronald Patton 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. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he 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 he 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 he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
David Patton is a common name, and searches return many other men who share it, including men whose obituaries appear in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Mississippi, family history pages and an art gallery owner in Los Angeles. None of those records is connected to the 54-year-old man who died in November 2007. His middle name, Ronald, is the detail most likely to help anyone who knew him recognize him.
Without an address, it is not known exactly where he was hurt. The Newton Division covers a part of South Los Angeles just south of downtown, including the neighborhoods of Central-Alameda, South Park and Historic South-Central. Central Avenue, which runs through the division, was for decades the heart of Black Los Angeles and its famous jazz scene. Today the area is a densely built, working-class part of the city, with small houses and apartment buildings mixed among warehouses, garment factories, rail lines and light industry along the Alameda corridor.
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 David Ronald Patton could be found in news archives or public records. More than 18 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Someone who lived or worked in the Newton area of South Los Angeles in early November 2007 may remember an injured man, a fight or police activity that weekend, or may know who David Patton was and who he spent his time with. Relatives and old friends may also hold details that were never made public. 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.
