Manuel Arroyo Buena was 63 years old when he died on Tuesday, December 20, 2016, in Santa Fe Springs. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 8025 Sorensen Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Whittier Police Department.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 63-year-old Latino male" who "died Tuesday, Dec. 20, after being stabbed in Santa Fe Springs." The entry gave a street address, but it did not say whether that was his home, his workplace or simply the place where he was found. No follow-up story appears to have been written.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Manuel Arroyo Buena 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. His name may appear in other records in a different form. Many people of Latin American heritage carry two surnames, so he may also have been known as Manuel Arroyo, a very common name, which would make him harder to trace. Searches for his full name turn up nothing tied to this death.
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.
He died five days before Christmas, a time of year when many families gather. Whoever was close to him that season may have known where he spent his last days and with whom.
Santa Fe Springs is a small city in southeastern Los Angeles County, between Whittier, Norwalk and Downey. It has relatively few residents and a large industrial base, with warehouses, factories, trucking yards and business parks covering much of its land. It grew up around an oil field that was one of the most productive in California in the 1920s. The city does not have its own police force and contracts with the Whittier Police Department, which is why that department handles the case.
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 Manuel Arroyo Buena could be found in news archives or public records. More than nine years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew a 63-year-old man named Manuel Arroyo Buena, or who was on or near Sorensen Avenue in Santa Fe Springs in December 2016, may hold information that could help. 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 Whittier Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
