Robert Eugene Cameron was 72 years old when he died on Thursday, June 29, 2000, in La Verne, in eastern Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 3800 Bradford St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a La Verne Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a brief entry drawn from coroner's records. It gave his name, his age, the date, the address and the cause of death. No police statement, family comment or news story about the case could be found.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Robert Eugene Cameron 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.
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.
The name Robert Cameron is common, and searches return obituaries and records for many men with that name, including men called Robert Eugene Cameron in Missouri, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. None of them match his age, the date of his death or the city where he died, so none of that material can be connected to him.
His age stands out. A fatal beating of an older man can arise from a robbery, a dispute with someone he knew, or an attack at home. The public record does not say which, if any, of those applied here, and it would be a guess to suggest one.
La Verne is a small city at the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and next to Pomona, San Dimas and Claremont. It is largely residential, with quiet neighborhoods, an old downtown area and the University of La Verne.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. Neighbors who were living near Bradford Street in 2000 may still remember the day police came to the address.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Robert Eugene Cameron 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 lived on or near Bradford Street in La Verne in June 2000, or who knew a 72-year-old man named Robert Cameron in the area, may have information that investigators never heard. 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 La Verne Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
