Tommie Cheatham

Tommie Cheatham was 18 years old when he was stabbed to death on Monday, April 6, 2015, outside his family's home in Vermont Vista, in South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 825 W. 101st St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Criminal Gang Homicide Division.

According to ABC7, his sister heard him "arguing with someone outside in the 800 block of West 101st Street at about 8:30 p.m." About half an hour later, when she went out to walk her dog, she found him bleeding from multiple stab wounds. The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report said he was found in the driveway of a home at about 9 p.m., citing LAPD Det. Rick Gordon. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:17 p.m.

Tommie was a freshman at El Camino College, where he was studying music. ABC7 reported that "his favorite instrument was the piano, but he played several instruments," and that the aspiring musician planned to transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles. "His family loved him deeply," family friend Kendra Graham told the station. "He grew up in this house and he didn't deserve this just like anybody else. This is everybody's kid."

Police said Tommie had no known problems with law enforcement, and they did not believe the attack was gang related. No suspect information was released. The Times described him as "an 18-year-old black and Latino man" and said police were looking for witnesses.

The argument his sister overheard is the most important known detail of the case. It suggests that Tommie may have known the person who attacked him, or at least spoke with that person before the stabbing, but the record does not say who it was, what the argument was about, or whether anyone else saw the person arrive or leave.

Vermont Vista is a small residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, made up largely of modest single-family homes with front yards and driveways along a grid of numbered streets. Many families there have lived in the same houses for decades, and neighbors often know one another by sight. That Tommie was attacked in front of the home where he grew up, on an evening when people were still outside walking dogs, suggests that someone nearby may have seen or heard more than has been made public.

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 Tommie Cheatham could be found in news archives or public records. More than ten years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on West 101st Street on the evening of April 6, 2015, who heard the argument or saw someone leave the area, or who knew who Tommie was meeting that night, may hold information that could help. Classmates from El Camino College and friends from the neighborhood may also remember something he said in the days before. The Times asked tipsters to call the Criminal Gang Homicide Division at 485-1383. 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.