Samuel Michel was 25 years old when he was killed on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, in his apartment in Koreatown. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds in the 800 block of South Serrano Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department West Bureau Homicide case.
Known to his family and friends as Sam, he was a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts. KPCC reported that he was a photographer who had decided to become a designer, and that he had moved back to Los Angeles about eight months before his death after spending time with his family in New York. "He thought this is where artists got started," his mother, Deborah Michel, said. Friends and family described him as a writer, graphic designer, outdoor enthusiast and musician.
"Griffith Park was his favorite place, he liked the second hand clothing stores, he loved the taco trucks, and he loved all of his friends," his mother told CBS Los Angeles.
On his last night, according to detectives, he met a friend at the R-Bar, left around 12:45 a.m. and walked about five blocks home to the Villa Sir Francis Drake apartments. Around 2:30 a.m., neighbors heard screams and a loud commotion from his fifth-floor apartment, and several people called police after hearing items being thrown and a man screaming. Police were called about 2:40 a.m. and found him with a knife in his back and stab wounds to his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses reported seeing a man in a white tank top leaving the area on a bicycle, which ABC7 later described as a BMX bike. Detectives said the building had security cameras, but they were not working that night. Det. Jim Freund told KPCC that nothing they knew of had been taken from the apartment. "Whether it was just a random passing saw him on the street or someone he knew … we have no clues," he said.
In August 2012 the Los Angeles City Council announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. On the first anniversary of his death, family and friends held a memorial at the building, and his family doubled the reward money to $100,000. "It's a hole in your heart so big you can't heal," his mother said. Det. John Skaggs said, "we just don't know what happened to him or why."
Koreatown is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles, west of downtown and centered on Wilshire Boulevard, with older apartment buildings, restaurants and bars that stay busy late into the night.
Homicides in Los Angeles fell steeply in the late 2000s and early 2010s, yet many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Samuel Michel could be found in news archives or public records. More than 13 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Serrano Avenue and 8th Street in the early hours of April 10, 2012, or who saw a man riding away on a bicycle that night, may hold information that could help 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.
