Efrain Benitez Jr. was only 2 years old when he died on Tuesday, February 5, 2002. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Downey Police Department case. The record does not give an address or a neighborhood for where he was hurt.
He was a Latino boy, and the "Jr." after his name shows that he shared his first name with his father. Beyond his name, his age and the agency that handled his case, almost nothing about Efrain 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 his death. A child of 2 would have had parents, grandparents and others who loved him and who still remember him, but none of that has entered the public record. Searches for his name turned up only adult men who share it, in New Jersey, Texas, Florida and other places, with no connection to this case.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances of his death remain unknown to the public. The record does not say where he was when he was injured, whether he was at home or somewhere else, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether anyone was ever questioned about what happened. Blunt force trauma is a broad finding. In a very young child it can result from a blow, a fall, being shaken or struck against a surface, or being hit by a vehicle, and the coroner's ruling of homicide means only that another person caused the death. The record does not say which of these, if any, applied to Efrain.
Deaths of very young children are among the most difficult cases investigators face. They often happen indoors, out of public view, and the only people present may be adults or other small children. Such cases can depend heavily on medical evidence and on what the people around the child are willing to say, and they can remain open for years when that evidence is not enough to bring a charge.
Downey is a city of about 110,000 people in southeast Los Angeles County, between the 5 and 605 freeways. It is largely a city of single-family homes and tree-lined streets, with a busy downtown and large shopping areas. Downey is known as the home of the oldest operating McDonald's restaurant and for its long history in the aerospace industry. A plant in the city built hardware for the Apollo program and the Space Shuttle, and the site is now home to the Columbia Memorial Space Center. The city has its own police department.
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 Efrain Benitez Jr. 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 Efrain or his family in Downey in early 2002, or who has any knowledge of how he was hurt, 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 Downey Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
