Anthony Christopher Thompson was 52 years old when he died on Monday, April 5, 2004, in El Monte, a city in the San Gabriel Valley east of downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at Valley Boulevard and Baldwin Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an El Monte Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave only the most basic facts. It described him as "a 52-year-old white male" who "died Monday, April 5, after sustaining blunt force trauma in El Monte, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records."
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Anthony Christopher Thompson 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. His full name, with its middle name, is less common than the plain name Anthony Thompson, but searches for it turn up only other men, among them a man named in a jail booking log in Arkansas and another listed in court filings in Indiana, none of whom can be tied to the man who died in El Monte.
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 location given in the record is an intersection rather than a street address, which suggests that he may have been found outdoors, on a sidewalk, in a parking lot or near the roadway, though the record does not say so. Valley Boulevard is one of the main east-west roads of the San Gabriel Valley, lined for miles with shops, restaurants, motels and auto businesses, and it carries heavy traffic through El Monte at all hours. An intersection on such a road is a public place, which means that drivers, bus riders, store workers or passersby may have been close by when he was hurt.
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 Anthony Christopher Thompson could be found in news archives or public records. More than 21 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Valley Boulevard and Baldwin Avenue in El Monte in early April 2004, or who knew Anthony Thompson and saw him in the days before he died, 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 El Monte Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
