Penny Lee Simpson was 60 years old when she died on Thursday, September 20, 2018. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 2324 S. Griffin Ave. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Newton Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded her death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described her as "a 60-year-old white female" who "died Thursday, Sept. 20, after being stabbed in Lincoln Heights." No follow-up story appears to have been written.
There is one puzzle in the record. The Times placed the death in Lincoln Heights, a neighborhood northeast of downtown, but the case was assigned to Newton Division, which patrols neighborhoods south and southeast of downtown.
The record does not explain the difference, which suggests that either the neighborhood label or the division may have been entered in a way that does not match the other.
A short obituary listing posted by Forest Lawn adds a few details about her life. It said that "Penny Lee Simpson, 60, born on August 30, 1958, in Anaheim, California, passed away September 20, 2018." It also said that "She resided in Long Beach, California at the time of her" death. The listing matches her full name, her age and the date she died. It suggests that she was a Southern California native who had spent her life in the region, and that she was some distance from home when she was killed, although the record does not say why she was in the area that day. No longer obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found, and no news outlet appears to have reported on her death. Penny Simpson is not a rare name, and searches turn up several other women who share it in other states and countries, none of whom can be tied to this death.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether she was attacked by a stranger or by someone she knew, whether she was hurt indoors or on the street, what time of day it happened, or whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital. It does not say whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Lincoln Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, a hilly district of older houses, small apartment buildings and busy commercial streets on the east side of the Los Angeles River, close to downtown.
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.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Penny Lee Simpson 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 knew a 60-year-old Long Beach woman named Penny Simpson, or who was near the 2300 block of South Griffin Avenue in September 2018, may hold information that could help. 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.
