Robert Lee Salandino was 64 years old when he died on Monday, January 14, 2002, in Van Nuys. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 14345 Friar Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's Van Nuys Division.
He was a white man in his mid-60s. Almost nothing about his life 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 killing itself.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances of his death 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 record gives a specific address on Friar Street, which may mean that he was hurt in or near a home or building there, though it does not say whether he lived at that address.
Van Nuys is one of the oldest communities in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1911 and later made part of the city of Los Angeles. It is home to the Valley's main government center, with courthouses and city offices, and to Van Nuys Airport, one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country. Its neighborhoods mix apartment buildings, small houses and commercial strips, and many of its residents are working-class families and older people who have lived in the area for decades. The area is patrolled by the LAPD's Van Nuys Division, whose station sits in the Van Nuys civic center. Detectives there handle cases across a dense mix of apartments, small businesses, light industry and older single-family neighborhoods.
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. The death of a 64-year-old man from blunt force injuries in Van Nuys does not appear to have been the subject of any news story about the crime.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Robert Lee Salandino 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 Friar Street in Van Nuys in January 2002, or who knew Robert, 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.
