Marie Llufrio was 69 years old when she died on Thursday, May 30, 2002, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 436 Cedar Avenue. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Long Beach Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report entry for Marie gives only the basic facts from the coroner: her age, the date, the address and the cause of death. One other trace appears online. A property-history website that compiles reports of deaths at addresses describes the case as a "Double Homicide," naming Marie Llufrio, "a 69-year-old white female," and "Antonio Llufrio, a 78-year-old white male." That listing could not be checked against a news story or police release, and it appears alongside unrelated addresses, so it should be treated with caution. If it is accurate, a second person who shared her surname, which suggests a relative, was killed as well.
Beyond that, almost nothing about Marie Llufrio 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. Her surname is rare, and searches found only a younger relative or namesake listed in a university commencement program, with no connection to the case. She surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who she was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether she was attacked in her home, during a robbery or by someone she knew, what time of day she was hurt, whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect. An attack on a woman of 69, and possibly on an older man with her, is the kind of crime that usually draws intense police attention, which makes the silence around it all the more striking.
Long Beach is the second-largest city in Los Angeles County, a port city with its own police department, its own downtown and a long shoreline facing San Pedro Bay. Cedar Avenue runs through the central part of the city, in an area of apartment buildings, older homes and civic buildings near downtown.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. The killing of a woman in her late 60s in the middle of Long Beach left almost no trace in the news.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Marie Llufrio 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 Marie Llufrio, or Antonio Llufrio, or who lived near Cedar Avenue in Long Beach in May 2002, may hold information that could help. 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 Long Beach Police Department's Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
