Jamal Olarenwaju Oladapo was 21 years old when he died on Sunday, July 24, 2016, in Northridge, in the San Fernando Valley. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 17810 Merridy St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case under LAPD Valley Bureau Homicide.
Jamal, a graduate of Birmingham High School, was a student at the Los Angeles Film School. He was found stabbed to death in the underground parking garage of the Merridy Village apartment building, ABC7 reported. Neighbors said they heard an argument between three men around 1:30 p.m., and his body was found a short time later. The coroner confirmed that he died of stab wounds to the chest.
He was the only child of his mother, Kari Jolaoso, who raised him as a single parent. "I called him numerous times. He did not answer," she told ABC7.
The next morning she found something she could not believe at her door: his clothes, headphones, cellphone, house keys and wallet wrapped in his jacket. "I beg whoever is out there to please, if you see anything, if you know anything, please let the police know. Please don't let another mother go through this," she said.
Nigeria's Punch newspaper, which described him as a Nigerian student born in the United States, reported that he had dreamed since the age of 11 of becoming a music producer. On his LinkedIn page he had written that he had worked with "Top Dawg Entertainment and other local artistes" and had volunteered at Warner Bros. He lived with his mother and helped her run the family grocery business. The newspaper reported that he had been out jogging in his neighborhood that Sunday. "He was my only joy, my happiness; he was what I lived for," his mother said. An aunt, Opeyemi Soetan, told the paper that the family had heard "there was a surveillance camera around the area," and the family appealed to Nigeria's government to help them get justice.
Ten years later, in July 2026, his mother marked the anniversary of his death with a remembrance gathering. Apples Bite magazine reported that she still runs Sola's African Market in Los Angeles, the store she built with him in mind, and that she keeps his memory alive there through her customers.
Northridge is a largely residential community in the northwest San Fernando Valley, home to California State University, Northridge, and remembered across the country for the 1994 earthquake that bears its name. Its streets mix single-family homes with apartment complexes.
By the mid-2010s Los Angeles was recording roughly 250 to 300 homicides a year, among the lowest totals in decades, yet many of those killings still went unsolved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Jamal Olarenwaju Oladapo 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. Neighbors heard three men arguing that afternoon, and someone returned his belongings to his mother's door the following morning. Anyone who was near Merridy Street in Northridge on July 24, 2016, or who knows how those belongings came to be left there, 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
