Sung Gwan Lee was 33 years old when he died on Tuesday, June 28, 2005, in Westlake, just west of downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 2131 W. 3rd St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Rampart Division case.
He was an Asian man in his early 30s. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Sung Gwan Lee has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record. Lee is one of the most common surnames in the world, and searches for his full name returned only scientists, doctors, investors and others who share some part of it. None of them could be tied to the man who died on Third Street in the summer of 2005.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he 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 he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
The address itself is a specific street number rather than a block or an intersection, which may mean he was found at or near a particular building, such as a home, an apartment, a business or a parking area. The public record does not say which, and it does not say whether he lived there, worked there or was simply passing through.
Westlake is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles. It lies just west of downtown and is centered on MacArthur Park, with its lake and palm trees. Its blocks are crowded with older apartment buildings, small shops, restaurants and street vendors, and the neighborhood has long been a first home in the city for many newly arrived immigrants. Third Street is one of the long east-west roads that run through it, carrying traffic toward Koreatown and the neighborhoods farther west. The area is served by the LAPD's Rampart Division.
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 Sung Gwan Lee 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 lived or worked near West Third Street in Westlake in late June 2005, or who knew Sung Gwan Lee, 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
