Robert Henry Melendez

Robert Henry Melendez was 54 years old when he died on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Pico Rivera. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near Beverly Boulevard and the San Gabriel River Parkway. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.

Deputies first responded to a 10:50 p.m. call of "a person down" near Beverly Boulevard and San Gabriel River Parkway, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported. The call reached firefighters as a traffic collision involving a pedestrian, and deputies at first believed the man was the victim of a hit-and-run. "He was lying on Beverly Boulevard, in the middle of the street," Lt. Derrick Alfred of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau told the newspaper. Alfred said the man was found about a quarter mile east of the intersection, and that deputies then discovered he had multiple stab wounds. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene at 11 p.m., and the coroner's office identified him as a Pico Rivera resident.

A memorial listing with Dignity Memorial records that Robert Henry Melendez was born on Nov. 1, 1963, and died on Jan. 3, 2018, in Pico Rivera. Beyond that, little about his life has been made public. No published obituary describing his family, his work or his interests could be found, and no news outlet appears to have followed up on the case after the first reports. The record does not say whether he had been walking, driving or riding along Beverly Boulevard that night, whether he knew the person who stabbed him, or what led to the attack.

Pico Rivera is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, lying between the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River. It is largely made up of single-family homes, with shopping centers and businesses along its main boulevards, and it is known for the Pico Rivera Sports Arena and for its long history as a working-class and middle-class suburb. Beverly Boulevard is one of the main roads crossing the city, and late at night traffic there can move quickly with few people on foot. Pico Rivera contracts with the Sheriff's Department for police services.

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 Robert Henry Melendez 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. Drivers who passed along Beverly Boulevard near the San Gabriel River late on the night of Jan. 3, 2018, people who knew Robert in Pico Rivera, or anyone who later heard 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 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.