Eugene Morello was 57 years old when he died at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 18, 2007, 17 days after he was found badly hurt at a homeless encampment in Van Nuys. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of blunt force trauma suffered near Sepulveda Boulevard north of Raymer Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Van Nuys Division case.
According to the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, Eugene, a white man, had been "beaten in the head with a hammer or similar object at a homeless encampment." Another transient found him unconscious near the railroad tracks off Sepulveda Boulevard and called authorities. He was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, where he remained for more than two weeks before he "was taken off life support." The coroner's record lists May 1, the day he was found, as the date tied to his death.
The Times reported that Morello was "thought to be from Toronto, via Nevada." That short phrase suggests he had traveled a long way from where he started, and that the people who knew him best may have lived far from Los Angeles. Van Nuys detectives said they were "seeking information of any kind on this case." No suspect was ever named in the published record, and police did not say whether they believed the attacker was someone from the encampment or a stranger.
Beyond those details, almost nothing about Eugene Morello 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, none of them connected to his death. If he had family in Canada or Nevada, they may have learned of his death only much later, if at all.
Van Nuys is one of the oldest communities in the San Fernando Valley, home to the Van Nuys Civic Center and Van Nuys Airport. Sepulveda Boulevard is one of the longest streets in Los Angeles and a major north-south route through the Valley. Railroad tracks cross the area, and the land along rail lines and freeways in Los Angeles has long been a place where people without homes set up camps, often out of sight of the surrounding streets.
Homicides in Los Angeles fell steeply in the late 2000s and early 2010s, yet many killings from those years were never solved. Attacks inside homeless encampments are especially hard to solve, because victims and witnesses often have no fixed address and may move on before detectives can find them.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Eugene Morello 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 stayed near the railroad tracks off Sepulveda Boulevard and Raymer Avenue in the spring of 2007, or who knew Eugene in Toronto, Nevada or Van Nuys, may hold information that could help. The Times listed Van Nuys detectives at 818-374-0040 during the day, or 818-374-9500 at night. 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.
