Von Anthony Harris was 42 years old when he died on Wednesday, October 3, 2001, in the Harvard Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 1657 W. 56th St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 42-year-old black male" who "died Wednesday, Oct. 3, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Harvard Park." It did not say how he was hurt, whether the address on 56th Street was his home, or whether detectives had any idea who was responsible. No follow-up news story appears to have been published.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Von Anthony Harris 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. Anthony Harris is a common name, and searches turned up a professional football player, obituaries for several other men called Von Harris in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and Utah, and a later civil case filed by a man listed as Von Anthony Harris Jr. Nothing in the saved records ties any of them to this death, although the "Jr." may suggest a family connection that the record does not confirm.
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.
Harvard Park is a residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, west of the Harbor Freeway, named for a city park in the area. It is made up mostly of modest single-family homes and small apartment buildings on long, straight blocks, and for decades it has been home to many Black families, with a growing number of Latino families in later years. West 56th Street is one of the neighborhood's quiet residential streets. The area is patrolled by the LAPD's 77th Street Division.
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 Von Anthony Harris could be found in news archives or public records. More than 24 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived on or near the 1600 block of West 56th Street in October 2001, or who knew a 42-year-old man named Von Harris, 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
