Martin Nicolas Figueroa was 65 years old when he died on Friday, June 24, 2005, in Inglewood. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 1050 S. Prairie Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an Inglewood Police Department case.
He was a Latino man in his mid-60s, older than most people whose deaths are recorded as homicides. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Martin Nicolas Figueroa 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. Martin Figueroa is a common name, and searches turned up only namesakes, among them men whose obituaries were published in Texas, Florida and New York and a man whose family raised funeral money online years later. None of them could be tied to the man who died in Inglewood in 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.
His age raises its own questions. A man of 65 can suffer fatal injuries in an attack that a younger man might survive, and older victims are sometimes targeted in robberies. It is also possible that he was hurt in a dispute with someone he knew. None of these possibilities is confirmed by anything in the public record, and the record does not say whether he lived near the address where he was hurt.
Inglewood is a city of its own in the southwestern part of Los Angeles County, close to Los Angeles International Airport, with jets passing low overhead on their way in to land. Prairie Avenue is one of its main north-south roads. The Forum arena stands along it, and in 2005 the Hollywood Park racetrack was still operating nearby, years before its land was redeveloped into SoFi Stadium. The city has its own police department, which investigates killings within its borders.
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 Martin Nicolas Figueroa 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 near the 1000 block of South Prairie Avenue in Inglewood in late June 2005, or who knew Martin Nicolas Figueroa, may hold information that could help investigators. 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 Inglewood Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
