Abraham Bevel was 52 years old when he died at about 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, 2007, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma near West Esther Street and Santa Fe Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Long Beach Police Department case.
According to the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, Abraham, a Black man, "died the night after he had a fistfight with someone on West Esther Street east of Santa Fe Avenue in Long Beach." The Times did not name the other person in the fight, describe what the fight was about, or say where Abraham was when he died. It noted only that his time of death was listed as 10 p.m. and that the Homicide Report was "seeking more information on this victim." No further details appear to have been published.
That short account still says a great deal. It means at least one other person was with Abraham when he was hurt, and it suggests that people nearby may have seen or heard the fight. Because he died the following night rather than at the scene, he may have gone home, or carried on with his day, without anyone realizing how badly he was injured. A fistfight can lead to a finding of blunt force trauma even when no weapon is used.
Beyond his name, his age and the fight described by the Times, almost nothing about Abraham Bevel has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. Searches for his name turned up only other people who share it, including a college football player, a man in Florida and a businessman in Carson, none of them connected to his death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
The intersection of Esther Street and Santa Fe Avenue lies on the west side of Long Beach, an area of modest homes, small businesses and industry not far from the Port of Long Beach. Santa Fe Avenue is one of the main streets serving the neighborhood. It is a working community, where residents often know who lives on their block and who passes through.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. Long Beach has its own police department and homicide detail, and fights that end in a death a day later can be especially hard to investigate when witnesses do not come forward.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Abraham Bevel 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. Anyone who was on West Esther Street near Santa Fe Avenue in July 2007, who saw a fight there, or who knew Abraham and saw him in the day before he died, may hold information that could help. 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 Long Beach Police Department's Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
