Laura Salazar was 38 years old when she died on Monday, August 15, 2005, in South El Monte. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 9566 Garvey Ave. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case handled by the department's Homicide Bureau.
A short death notice published in the Whittier Daily News a week later is the only public account of her life that could be found. It reads: "Laura Salazar, born April 5, 1967 in Texas, passed away August 15, 2005 in So. El Monte, CA." The notice announced a prayer service at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 23, 2005, at Guerra & Gutierrez Mortuary on Greenleaf Avenue in Whittier, and said the "Rite of committal will be private." The dates and place match the coroner's record, and the birth date confirms that she was 38. The notice does not name her family or say how she died.
No news story about her death could be found, and Laura Salazar is a common name, shared by women in Texas, Colombia, Tennessee and many other places whose stories turned up in searches. None of them could be tied to the woman who died in South El Monte. What the death notice does show is that she was born in Texas and had come to Southern California at some point in her life, and that someone arranged a service for her close to where she died.
Because so little has been released, the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether she 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 she was hurt, whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
South El Monte is a small city in the San Gabriel Valley, east of downtown Los Angeles. It has no police department of its own and contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement. The city is known for its mix of industrial businesses, small shops and working-class neighborhoods. Garvey Avenue, where her death was recorded, is one of its main commercial streets, carrying steady traffic past auto shops, restaurants and small businesses.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Laura Salazar could be found in news archives or public records. More than 20 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near Garvey Avenue in South El Monte in mid-August 2005, or who knew Laura Salazar, her friends or her routines, 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
