David Fox was 39 years old when he died on Monday, December 30, 2002, in North Hollywood. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 11502 Killion St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department North Hollywood Division case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It gave his age, listed him as a Black man, named the address on Killion Street and noted the cause of death. No follow-up story appears to have been published.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about David Fox 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. David Fox is a very common name. Searches for it returned lawyers, doctors, a video game designer, an actor, a journalist and men named in criminal cases in other states, and none of those records describe the man who died in North Hollywood.
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 timing adds to the sense of loss. December 30 falls in the quiet stretch between Christmas and New Year's Day, when many families are gathered together, many people are off work and the days are short.
North Hollywood is a neighborhood in the southeastern San Fernando Valley, within the city of Los Angeles. It is known for the NoHo Arts District, with its small theaters, galleries and studios, and for its closeness to the entertainment industry in nearby Burbank and Studio City. In 2000, a little more than two years before David Fox died, the Metro Red Line subway extended to a terminal station in North Hollywood, linking the neighborhood directly with Hollywood and downtown. Away from the main boulevards, much of the area is made up of residential streets lined with apartment buildings, duplexes and modest single-family homes. Killion Street is one of those residential streets.
Homicides in Los Angeles rose sharply in the early 2000s, climbing past 600 in 2002, and detectives carried heavy caseloads. Many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of David Fox could be found in news archives or public records. More than 23 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived on or near Killion Street in North Hollywood in December 2002, or who knew a 39-year-old man named David Fox, may hold information that could help detectives. 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.
