Levare Deleon Saylor was 38 years old when he died on Monday, May 7, 2018, in Vermont Vista, a neighborhood in South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 10710 Figueroa St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department South Bureau Homicide case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded him as a Black man who "died Monday, May 7, after being stabbed in Vermont Vista." The entry gives no further details about what happened, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the killing.
His family did make sure his passing was marked. An obituary published through Forest Lawn and listed on Legacy.com says that "LeVare DeLeon Saylor, 38, born on June 26, 1979, in Huntington, Long Island, New York, passed away May 7, 2018." It adds that "He resided in Long Beach." The name, age and date all match the coroner's record.
The obituary shows that he began life on the other side of the country, on Long Island, and that by the time of his death he was living in Long Beach, some miles south of the place where he was stabbed. Only the opening lines of the obituary were saved for this story, so it is not known what else his family wrote about him, who survived him, or what brought him to Southern California.
Because so little has been released, the basic circumstances of his death remain unknown to the public. The record does not say why he was in Vermont Vista that day, 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.
Vermont Vista is a largely residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, made up mostly of modest single-family homes and small apartment buildings. Figueroa Street, where he was stabbed, is one of the longest streets in Los Angeles, running south from downtown through South Los Angeles with a mix of homes, motels, small businesses and auto shops along its length. The Harbor Freeway runs close by, and the area is busy with traffic and pedestrians at most hours. Like many South Los Angeles neighborhoods, Vermont Vista is home to families who have lived there for generations.
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 Levare Deleon Saylor 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 Figueroa Street in Vermont Vista in early May 2018, who knew LeVare in Long Beach or South Los Angeles, or who heard later talk about what happened to him, 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.
