Richard Derek Bellman was 33 years old when he died on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2003, in Venice, the beach neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 433 Venice Way. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's Pacific Division.
Those who knew him called him Derek. According to a profile on Memory Alpha, a fan encyclopedia, he "was a comic book artist specializing in colors and a painter." The profile says he "began in the comics industry in the mid-1990s working as a colorist with Malibu Comics on titles such as Ultraverse Premiere, Prototype, and Solitaire," and that after Malibu was acquired by Marvel Comics, "he worked on titles including X-Men, Weapon X, and Wolverine." His memorial on Find a Grave gives his birth date as Aug. 27, 1970, and says he was buried at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar.
The Los Angeles Police Department released a short statement on the day he died. It said that at "about 6:30 a.m., the victim was found dead by his roommate in his apartment in the 400 block of Venice Way in the Venice area of Los Angeles." According to the release, "Preliminary investigation revealed the cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma to the head." Police said, "There are no suspect in custody. The motive is unknown." Pacific Area Homicide detectives took the case and asked anyone with information to call them at 310-202-4513.
The release left much unsaid. It did not say when Derek Bellman was last seen alive, whether there were signs of a struggle or a forced entry, or whether anything was missing from the apartment. The fact that he was found inside his own home, rather than on a street, suggests that his attacker may have been someone he let in or someone who got in without his knowing, but that is an inference only. Police never publicly named a suspect.
Venice is one of the best-known neighborhoods in Los Angeles, famous for its boardwalk, its beach, the canals built in the early 1900s and a long history as a home for artists, musicians and writers. In the early 2000s it was a mix of longtime residents, renters in older apartment buildings and newer arrivals drawn by the beach.
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 Richard Derek Bellman could be found in news archives or public records. More than 22 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived on or near Venice Way in early September 2003, or who knew Derek Bellman through his comics work, his painting or his life in Venice, may hold information that could help detectives. Colleagues, friends or neighbors who saw him in the last days of his life may remember who he was with. 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.
