Delbert Smith was 59 years old when he died on Friday, February 15, 2019, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 998 E. Anaheim St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Long Beach Police Department.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him only as "a 59-year-old black male" who "died Friday, Feb. 15, after being stabbed in Long Beach." That brief entry, drawn from coroner's records, is nearly all that has been made public about how he died.
A funeral home listing does add a few details about his life. Destiny Funeral Home and Crematory posted a memorial page for a Delbert Smith born on January 8, 1960, who died on February 15, 2019, the same date and the same age given by the coroner. The page did not include a written obituary, but it listed his services. A public viewing was held from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m.
at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 741 East 10th Street in Long Beach. The church is only a few blocks from the stretch of Anaheim Street where he was hurt, which suggests that he may have had long ties to that part of the city. It shows that people gathered to mourn him, even if their memories never reached the news.
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.
Delbert Smith is a fairly common name, and searches turn up a boat captain in the Bahamas, an engineer in Connecticut and obituaries for older men of the same name in several states, none of whom are connected to this death. That has made it harder for any other trace of this particular man to surface.
Anaheim Street is one of the main east-west roads across Long Beach, and its central stretch runs through some of the city's most densely populated neighborhoods. The neighborhoods along it in central Long Beach are home to many apartment buildings, small shops and restaurants, and part of the street forms the heart of Cambodia Town, which the city designated in 2007.
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 connected to the death of Delbert Smith could be found in news archives or public records. More than six years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near East Anaheim Street in Long Beach in February 2019, or who knew a 59-year-old man named Delbert Smith, perhaps through the neighborhood or the church where his funeral was held, 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 Long Beach Police Department's Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
