Darington Moore Smith was 45 years old when he died on Wednesday, April 27, 2005, at 450 Bauchet St. near Chinatown and downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at that address. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The address is the key fact in the record. 450 Bauchet Street is the address of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, part of the Los Angeles County jail complex just north of downtown, which is run by the Sheriff's Department. The record does not say that he was an inmate, but a death at that address handled by the Sheriff's Department suggests that he may have been in custody when he was fatally injured. If so, the person or people responsible would most likely have been other inmates or others inside the facility, but the record does not say who struck him or how.
He was a Black man in his mid-40s. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Darington Moore Smith 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. His name is an unusual one, and searches turned up only a passing mention of a man by that name in a 2001 funeral program, with nothing that ties the mention to this death. He surely had family and friends who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Because so little has been released, the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was attacked in a cell, a dormitory or a common area, whether he was beaten by one person or several, what time of day he was hurt, or whether he died at the facility or later at a hospital. Nor does it say whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
The county jail complex on Bauchet Street sits on the edge of Chinatown, not far from Union Station. Twin Towers, which opened in the 1990s, was built to hold thousands of people and includes facilities for inmates with medical and mental health needs. Thousands of people pass through the complex every year, many of them held for only a short time while awaiting court dates.
A killing inside a jail differs from a killing on the street. There are fewer outside witnesses but many people who were present: other inmates, deputies, medical staff and civilian workers. Someone who was held at Twin Towers in April 2005, or who worked there, may remember what happened to him.
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 Darington Moore Smith 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 at 450 Bauchet Street in late April 2005, or who knew Darington, may hold information that could help. 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.
