Alejandro Machuca Franco was 25 years old when he died on Thursday, November 29, 2018, six days after he was stabbed in the city of Norwalk. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds suffered in the 10900 block of Foster Road. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, with the Homicide Report naming the agency as "LASD Norwalk."
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 25-year-old Latino male" who "died Thursday, Nov. 29, after being stabbed in Norwalk." A short City News Service report published in the Whittier Daily News on December 4, 2018, added a few more facts. It identified him as "Alejandro Franco, 25, of Inglewood," and said he "was wounded about 11:50 p.m. on Nov. 23 in the 10900 block of Foster Road and died on Nov.
29 at a hospital, according to the coroner's office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department."
That report ended with a single line about the investigation: "Information was not released on a suspect or suspects." No later story about the case could be found.
The dates tell part of the story. He was hurt late on the night of Friday, November 23, the day after Thanksgiving, and he survived for nearly a week before he died. That suggests that he was taken to a hospital and treated, and that family members may have been at his side during those days. The record does not say whether he was able to speak with deputies about what happened before he died.
He lived in Inglewood, in the southwestern part of the county, which suggests that he may have been in Norwalk to visit someone, to work or to pass through. The public record does not say why he was on Foster Road that night, whether he was alone, or whether he knew the person who stabbed him.
Beyond those facts, almost nothing about Alejandro Machuca Franco has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser that can be confirmed as his was found. Searches for the name Alejandro Franco, a common one, turn up men in Iowa, Massachusetts, Mexico and elsewhere in Southern California, none of whom can be tied to this death. His fuller name, with the surname Machuca, did not lead to any news story or court record.
Norwalk is a city in the southeastern part of Los Angeles County, a largely residential suburb of single-family homes and apartment complexes crossed by busy commercial boulevards. It is home to Cerritos College and to the main offices of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. The city contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for police services, through the department's Norwalk Station.
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 Alejandro Machuca Franco could be found in news archives or public records. More than seven years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near Foster Road in Norwalk late on the night of November 23, 2018, or who knew a 25-year-old Inglewood man named Alejandro Franco, 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
