Robert Ray Gooch was 70 years old when he died on Wednesday, July 30, 2003, in La Puente, a city in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 447 Azusa Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave only the most basic facts. It described him as "a 70-year-old white male" who "died Wednesday, July 30, after sustaining blunt force trauma in La Puente, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records."
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Robert Ray Gooch 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. Robert Gooch is not a rare name, and searches turn up only other men who share it. Records also mention a younger man named Robert Ray Gooch Jr., but nothing in them shows whether he was related to the man who died in La Puente.
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.
At 70, he was much older than most homicide victims. Older people can suffer fatal injuries from a single blow, a shove or a fall during a robbery or a dispute, and the record does not say which, if any, of these happened.
The address given in the record is a numbered street address on Azusa Avenue, which suggests that he may have been found at or near a home, apartment or business. Azusa Avenue is one of the main north-south roads through the San Gabriel Valley, lined in many places with shops, restaurants, apartments and homes.
La Puente is one of the older communities of the San Gabriel Valley, a small, largely residential city. It contracts with the Sheriff's Department for police services, which is why the case was assigned to the department's Homicide Bureau.
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 Robert Ray Gooch 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 was on or near Azusa Avenue in La Puente in late July 2003, or who knew Robert Gooch 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
