Andres Ramos was 39 years old when he died on Sunday, March 5, 2017, in Koreatown. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near the 3500 block of Wilshire Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 39-year-old Latino male" who "died Sunday, March 5, after being stabbed near the 3500 block of Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown." No detective was quoted and no further details were released.
One detail in the record stands out. Koreatown lies inside the city of Los Angeles, where homicides are usually investigated by the LAPD, yet this case is listed with the Sheriff's Department.
The record does not explain why, and the reason may lie in exactly where he was attacked, but no public account says so.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Andres Ramos has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Andres Ramos is a very common name, and searches turn up many other men who share it, including athletes, an elected official and people who died in other years and other states. None of those records could be tied to the man who died on Wilshire Boulevard.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say 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.
The 3500 block of Wilshire Boulevard sits in the middle of Koreatown, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Wilshire there is lined with office towers, banks, churches, hotels and shopping centers, and the Metro subway runs beneath the boulevard. The surrounding streets are packed with apartment buildings, restaurants and late-night businesses, and the neighborhood is busy at nearly every hour. Koreatown is home to a large Korean American community and an even larger Latino population, and it draws visitors from across the region.
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 Andres Ramos 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 the 3500 block of Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown in early March 2017, or who knew a 39-year-old man named Andres Ramos, 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.
