Viengkham Hansaya was 48 years old when he was killed shortly after midnight on Thursday, June 5, 2014, in Watts. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds in the 1200 block of East Imperial Highway. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Criminal Gang Homicide Division case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave a short account of the attack, citing Los Angeles police Det. Sal LaBarbera. Hansaya "was standing in front of an apartment building shortly after midnight when a person walked up and stabbed him in the upper torso and back," the Times wrote. "When Hansaya was stabbed, he tried to run but fell to the ground," LaBarbera said. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:35 a.m., according to coroner's records.
The Times reported that detectives were seeking witnesses and asked anyone with information to call the Criminal Gang Homicide Division at 485-4341.
The account describes an attack that came without warning. Nothing in the record says whether he lived in the building where he was standing, whether he knew the person who walked up to him, or whether any words were exchanged first. The attacker was described only as "a person," with no age, sex or clothing given, and no vehicle was mentioned. The fact that the case went to the Criminal Gang Homicide Division does not by itself show that gang members were involved, since that unit handled many killings in South Los Angeles at the time.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, very little about Viengkham Hansaya has been made public. A funeral home listing under the same name appears online, but the saved record does not include dates that would confirm it is his. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record. His name is unusual in Los Angeles, which means anyone who knew him is likely to recognize it.
Watts is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles known around the world for the Watts Towers, the soaring sculptures built by hand by Simon Rodia over more than three decades, and for the 1965 uprising that drew national attention to conditions in the area. It is a largely residential community of small homes and apartment buildings. Imperial Highway is a major east-west road that crosses the southern part of the neighborhood, carrying traffic at most hours of the day and night.
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 Viengkham Hansaya 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 on or near East Imperial Highway in Watts just after midnight on June 5, 2014, or who knew a 48-year-old man named Viengkham Hansaya, may know something that never reached 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
