Salvador Silva Jr. was 26 years old when he was fatally stabbed early on Sunday, December 1, 2013, in Boyle Heights, on the Eastside of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds in the 2400 block of Michigan Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollenbeck Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave a short and painful account of his last minutes. "Silva managed to walk about a block after he was stabbed before he collapsed," said LAPD Det. Jose Ramirez. "Investigators believe that Silva was trying to get help." According to coroner's records, he "left a trail of blood on the sidewalk and the street." He was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:16 a.m.
The account does not say where on the street he was attacked, who stabbed him, or whether anyone saw it happen. It does not say whether he knew the person who hurt him or what led to the attack.
The trail he left suggests that investigators were able to trace his path from the place where he was stabbed to the place where he fell, though what they found along the way was never made public. The Times asked anyone with information to call the LAPD's Hollenbeck Division at 342-8953.
An obituary posted by the Guerra Gutierrez funeral home and carried on Legacy.com gives a few details of his life. It says that "Salvador Silva Jr., 26, of Los Angeles, California, entered into eternal rest on Sunday, December 1, 2013." According to the obituary, he was born on November 20, 1987, to a mother named Margarita, which means he had turned 26 less than two weeks before he died. The rest of the obituary text could not be retrieved for this story.
Salvador Silva is a fairly common name, and searches for it are crowded with other men, including a criminal defense lawyer in Orange County, none of whom can be tied to this death.
Boyle Heights lies just east of downtown Los Angeles, across the Los Angeles River. It is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, known for its historic homes, its tight-knit families and its long history as a first stop for immigrant communities. Landmarks such as Mariachi Plaza, Hollenbeck Park and Evergreen Cemetery are part of the neighborhood's identity, and Michigan Avenue is one of its residential streets. The area is patrolled by the LAPD's Hollenbeck Division.
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 Salvador Silva Jr. could be found in news archives or public records. More than 12 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near Michigan Avenue in Boyle Heights in the early morning hours of December 1, 2013, or who knew where Salvador Silva Jr. had been that night, 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.
