Landon Kendrick was two years old when he died on Friday, November 17, 2006, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 4244 Lakewood Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Long Beach Police Department case.
Landon A. Kendrick was born on January 28, 2004. A little more than two weeks after his death, his family published a short obituary in the Orange County Register. "Our tiniest angel passed away unexpectedly and far too soon," it began. "You touched the hearts of many people in such a short time. Your presence will always be felt by those of us lucky enough to have had the chance to know and love you. Thank you for bringing laughter and so much joy to our family."
The notice ended with a farewell: "Now go and have fun in God's little playground. You're safe in his arms and you live in his love. We love you, Landon." It was signed "Your Daddy and family." The obituary ran in the Register on December 3 and 4, 2006, which suggests that at least part of his family lived in or had ties to Orange County.
Beyond the obituary, almost nothing about his death has been made public. No news outlet appears to have reported on it, and no police statement about it could be found. The record does not say how a two-year-old boy came to suffer fatal blunt force injuries, who was caring for him at the time, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect. The address in the record may be the place where he was hurt, or the place where he was taken after he was hurt; the public record does not say which.
When a child this young dies of blunt force injuries, detectives usually look first at the adults who were responsible for the child's care, but there is no public information about what Long Beach investigators concluded in Landon's case.
Lakewood Boulevard is a major north-south road on the east side of Long Beach, the second-largest city in Los Angeles County. The east side of the city is largely made up of residential neighborhoods of single-family homes, apartments and shopping centers, and Lakewood Boulevard carries heavy traffic through it toward the neighboring city of Lakewood and the freeways to the north.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. The killings of small children often leave behind relatives, neighbors or babysitters who noticed something worrying but did not know what it meant.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Landon Kendrick 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 knew Landon or his family in Long Beach or Orange County in 2006, or who saw anything that concerned them about his care in the weeks before November 17, 2006, may hold information that could help detectives. 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.
