Anthony Haywood was 46 years old when he died on Monday, June 18, 2018, in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds in the 8800 block of South Hoover Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's South Bureau Homicide unit.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave a short account of what happened, based on information from Los Angeles Police Det. Nathan Kouri. At 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, June 17, "a group of people were gathered at Algin Sutton Recreation Center when an argument broke out between Haywood and another person," Kouri said. "The other man pulled out a knife and stabbed Haywood," the report continued, and then "fled in a light-colored sedan." Haywood, who was stabbed multiple times, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:36 a.m., according to coroner's records.
"The assailant remains at large," the Times wrote.
That account makes clear that he was not alone when he was attacked. A group of people was gathered at the park, and the argument appears to have taken place in front of others, which suggests that more than one person may have seen the man who stabbed him, or the car he drove away in. The report did not describe the attacker beyond the light-colored sedan, and it did not say what the argument was about or whether Haywood and the other man knew each other.
Beyond that account, almost nothing about Anthony Haywood's life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. Anthony Haywood is also a fairly common name, and searches turn up a well-known Los Angeles crime novelist who shares part of it, as well as men of the same name in other states, none of whom has any connection to this death. At 46, he surely had family, friends and neighbors who remember him, but none of their memories have entered the public record.
Vermont Vista is a residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, made up largely of single-family homes and small apartment buildings on a grid of numbered streets. Algin Sutton Recreation Center is a city park and recreation center in the neighborhood that draws residents of all ages, and it is the kind of place where people gather in the evenings, especially in summer.
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 Anthony Haywood 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 at or near Algin Sutton Recreation Center on the night of June 17, 2018, or who saw a light-colored sedan leaving the area on South Hoover Street that night, may hold information that could help. The Times report asked anyone with information to call detectives at 786-5111. 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.
