Kevin Ty Whitehurst II was 25 years old when he died on April 21, 2017, in Hawthorne. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds after he was attacked near Washington Avenue and West 132nd Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Hawthorne Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 25-year-old black man" and gave a short account of what police found. "About 8:15 p.m., Hawthorne police responded to a call about an unresponsive man in a driveway, according to Sgt. Kevin Keus. Officers found Whitehurst lying in a pool of his own blood, suffering from a stab wound to the chest."
He was still alive when officers reached him, and he spoke to them. But according to the Times, "Authorities said Whitehurst told police he did not remember much about the attack." That single detail is one of the most painful parts of the record.
The one person who could have described the attacker was able to say very little, which may help explain why the case has remained open.
He was taken to a hospital, where he died at 2:58 a.m., according to coroner's records, which means he survived for several hours after he was found the evening before. The Times did not report where the stabbing began, whether he was attacked in the driveway or made his way there afterward, or whether he lived nearby. Keus said detectives were looking for witnesses to the attack, which suggests that, at least at first, investigators did not know of anyone who had seen it happen.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he was found, almost nothing about Kevin Ty Whitehurst II has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found that clearly belongs to him, and no follow-up news story appears to have been published. The "II" in his name shows that he shared it with his father. He surely had family and friends who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Hawthorne is a city in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, southeast of Los Angeles International Airport. It is a dense, largely working-class community of apartment buildings and modest homes, crossed by busy boulevards and freeways. The city is known as the hometown of the Beach Boys and is home to the headquarters of the rocket company SpaceX, near the Hawthorne Municipal Airport. The Hawthorne Police Department handles homicides inside city limits.
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 Kevin Ty Whitehurst II could be found in news archives or public records. More than eight years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Washington Avenue and West 132nd Street in Hawthorne on the evening of April 20, 2017, or who knew a 25-year-old man named Kevin Whitehurst, may hold information that could help detectives. In 2017, police asked anyone with information to call Hawthorne Police at 349-2700. 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 Hawthorne Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
