Lois Ilene Schoenhoff was 68 years old when she died on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2000, in Pomona. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 3667 E. Valley Blvd. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Pomona Police Department case. The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report places the address in Lincoln Heights, but the street number, the agency and news reports all point to Pomona, which suggests the neighborhood label was a mistake.
She was born Lois Ilene Proffitt, according to a family genealogy page, and was the widow of Henry R. "Junior" Schoenhoff, who died in 1989. She was buried at Riverside National Cemetery. A Los Angeles Times report described her as a Pomona resident and said she lived in a mobile home.
The investigation moved quickly at first. According to a Los Angeles Police Department press release, Pomona detectives learned that a man who rented a room from her, described as "a boarder at the murder victim's residence," was missing, along with her car, a bluish green 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix. On the night of Nov. 9, 2000, officers in North Hollywood spotted the car parked in the 4000 block of Vineland Avenue and alerted Pomona police, and a stakeout followed. Early on Nov. 10, when officers approached, the man inside backed the car toward them, according to police, and officers opened fire, striking him in the forearm. He was arrested a few blocks away and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on police officers. He was on parole and was held without bail.
The press release said he was "wanted by the Pomona Police Department for questioning in connection with the murder." The Times reported that Pomona police had named him "as a possible suspect in the Oct. 29 beating death of Schoenhoff." No later report could be found saying that he, or anyone else, was charged with killing her, and no court record of a murder case has surfaced. Because he is not known to have been charged, he is not named here.
Pomona is one of the oldest and largest cities in the eastern part of Los Angeles County, close to the San Bernardino County line. It is home to the Fairplex, where the Los Angeles County Fair has been held since the 1920s, and to Cal Poly Pomona. Valley Boulevard is a long commercial road that runs east across the San Gabriel Valley and into Pomona, lined with small businesses and older housing.
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 for murder connected to the death of Lois Ilene Schoenhoff could be found in news archives or public records. More than 25 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Lois or visited her home on Valley Boulevard in October 2000, or who saw her car in the days after her death, 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 contact the Pomona Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
