Miguel Ortiz was 59 years old when he died on Thursday, May 6, 2021. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near Figueroa and Walnut streets, a location the coroner's records place in Carson. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 59-year-old white male" who "died Thursday, May 6, after being stabbed near Figueroa & Walnut streets in Carson." The entry gave an intersection rather than a street address, which suggests he may have been found outdoors, though the record does not say so. There is also a small puzzle in the record. Carson is a separate city policed by the Sheriff's Department, yet the case was assigned to an LAPD division.
The record does not explain this, and one of the two entries may be imprecise.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Miguel Ortiz 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. Miguel Ortiz is one of the most common names in the Spanish-speaking world, and searches turn up hundreds of other men who share it, including defendants in unrelated criminal cases in South Carolina, New Mexico and elsewhere, none of whom have anything to do with this death.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was stabbed during a fight or a robbery, attacked by a stranger or by someone he knew, or hurt indoors or on the street. 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.
Carson is a city in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, known for its mix of residential neighborhoods, industrial land and refineries. It is home to California State University, Dominguez Hills, and to the stadium complex now called Dignity Health Sports Park. Figueroa Street, one of the longest streets in the county, runs south from downtown Los Angeles through South Los Angeles and the narrow strip of city land that connects Los Angeles to the harbor.
Los Angeles recorded about 260 homicides a year in 2018 and 2019, among the lowest yearly totals in more than half a century, yet many of those killings still went unsolved. The spring of 2021 came during the coronavirus pandemic.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Miguel Ortiz could be found in news archives or public records. More than four years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew a 59-year-old man named Miguel Ortiz, or who was near Figueroa and Walnut streets in early May 2021, 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.
