Michael Joseph Francis was 25 years old when he died on Tuesday, December 12, 2006, in the Vermont Vista area of South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 400 W. Century Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case.
His death came only hours after an encounter with police. In a news release issued the next day, the LAPD said that officers from the Southeast Police Station had arrested Michael Francis at about 3:10 a.m. on December 12 at the Magic Carpet Inn, "located on Century Boulevard." The officers "had answered a report of a fight in the motel." The release said he was arrested "for a domestic-violence related battery."
According to the department, "After placing Francis in handcuffs, officers noticed him acting strangely. They summoned an ambulance, removed the handcuffs and had him taken to MLK Medical Center." He was admitted for observation "so doctors could monitor his system for high levels of narcotics." Because of his condition, he could not be booked on the misdemeanor charge, and officers released him from custody so that prosecutors could file the charge later. Medical staff told police that he died at 11:24 a.m. The LAPD said its Force Investigation Division would investigate and that "a coroner's examination will determine the cause of death."
The coroner later found that he had died of blunt force trauma and ruled the death a homicide. The public record does not say what caused those injuries. They may have been suffered in the fight that brought officers to the motel, or at some other point that morning, but no official account explaining how he was hurt could be found. It is also not known who else was involved in the fight or what became of the battery allegation after his death.
Century Boulevard runs east and west across South Los Angeles toward Los Angeles International Airport. Near the Harbor Freeway it passes through Vermont Vista and neighboring communities, a stretch of small businesses, budget motels, apartment buildings and modest single-family homes. Motels along the boulevard have long served travelers, short-term renters and people with nowhere else to stay.
Los Angeles still recorded roughly 480 to 520 homicides a year in the mid-2000s, and many of those killings were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Michael Joseph Francis could be found in news archives or public records. More than 19 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was at the Magic Carpet Inn on Century Boulevard in the early morning hours of December 12, 2006, who heard or saw the fight there, or who knew Michael Francis and spoke with him in the days before he died, may hold information that could help detectives understand what happened to him. 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.
