Robert Allen French was 65 years old when he died on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2002, in Koreatown, a neighborhood west of downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at Wilshire Boulevard and Wilton Place. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case, handled by the Wilshire Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded only a few facts. It described him as "a 65-year-old black male" who "died Saturday, Aug. 17, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Koreatown, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records." The entry did not name a detective, did not say what happened and did not ask the public for help.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Robert Allen French 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 French is a common name, and searches for it, even with the middle name Allen, turn up many other men, including a much younger man arrested in Florida decades later, none of whom can be tied to the man who died in Koreatown.
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 is an intersection rather than a street address. That suggests he may have been found on the street or sidewalk, but the record does not say so, and it is also possible that the intersection was simply the nearest landmark to the place where he was hurt. It does not say whether he lived nearby or was passing through.
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the best-known streets in Los Angeles, running from downtown all the way to the ocean in Santa Monica. Through Koreatown it is lined with office towers, churches, hotels and apartment buildings, and the surrounding blocks are among the most densely populated in the city. Wilton Place is a north-south street a few blocks west of Western Avenue.
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 Robert Allen French 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 knew Robert, who lived or worked near Wilshire Boulevard and Wilton Place in August 2002, or who saw anything unusual there that summer, may hold information that matters. 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.
