Francisco Suarez was 53 years old when he died on Sunday, September 7, 2014, in Van Nuys. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near Van Nuys Boulevard and Erwin Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Van Nuys Division case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 53-year-old Latino" who "was fatally stabbed" in the early hours of that Sunday. According to the Times, "a person in the area flagged police down about 4:30 a.m., said LAPD Lt. Dave Legaspi." Officers "found Suarez on the sidewalk with stab wounds to his torso," and he "was pronounced dead at 4:50 a.m., according to coroner's records." The Times added that "detectives are seeking witnesses to the stabbing."
That short account leaves many questions open.
The record does not say whether Suarez lived nearby or was passing through, whether he was alone, or whether he knew the person who attacked him. It does not say whether the stabbing followed an argument or a robbery, or whether the person who flagged down officers saw any part of what happened. The fact that police were seeking witnesses suggests that, at least in the first days, investigators did not have a clear description of a suspect.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he was found, almost nothing about Francisco Suarez 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. Francisco Suarez is a very common name, shared by a well-known Spanish theologian, a dentist, a former ballplayer and many men in court records and obituaries in other states, none of whom can be connected to this death. He surely had family, friends or coworkers who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Van Nuys is one of the oldest communities in the San Fernando Valley and the site of a large civic center that houses city and county offices and courthouses. Van Nuys Boulevard is its main commercial street, lined with shops, restaurants, car lots and apartment buildings, and it carries traffic and foot traffic late into the night. At 4:30 on a Sunday morning, the boulevard would have been quieter, but bus riders, early workers and people returning home from Saturday night may still have been nearby.
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 Francisco Suarez could be found in news archives or public records. More than 11 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Van Nuys Boulevard and Erwin Street in the early morning of September 7, 2014, or who knew Francisco Suarez and where he spent his time, may hold information that could help detectives. The Times asked anyone with information to call the Van Nuys Division detective desk at 374-0040. 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.
