Eduardo Cristian Lazaro was 21 years old when he died on Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, in Florence-Firestone, an unincorporated community in South Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 1317 E. Florence Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
He was a Latino man. According to the Los Angeles Times, deputies responded to a 911 call at 1:09 a.m., and Lazaro was pronounced dead at the scene. Sheriff's Sgt. B. Cotter said that a family gathering, held at a rental hall, took place before Lazaro was killed outside. Coroner's records said that he died from multiple stab wounds. No arrests had been made, the Times reported, and investigators did not know whether his death was gang-related. An early report had said that an unidentified victim was shot, but the coroner's findings showed that he was stabbed.
The date and time add some context.
The call came in during the first hour of Halloween, a Monday, after a weekend when parties and gatherings were common across the county. The record does not say whose family had rented the hall, whether Lazaro was a guest, how many people were there, or whether the people who attacked him had been inside. It does not say whether there was an argument first, whether anyone else was hurt, or whether a weapon was found. A family event at a rented hall usually means that a list of guests, a host and a hall operator existed, which suggests that investigators had people to question, but nothing about what they learned has been made public.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Eduardo Cristian Lazaro has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record. Searches for his name turned up only other men named Eduardo Lazaro, none of whom is the young man who died on East Florence Avenue.
Florence-Firestone is a densely settled, largely working-class community of small homes, apartments and storefronts, much of it home to Latino families. Because it lies outside any city, it has no city government of its own, and the Sheriff's Department provides its police services. Florence Avenue is one of its main east-west streets, lined with small businesses, auto shops, churches and event halls that families rent for birthdays, quinceaneras and other celebrations.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Eduardo Cristian Lazaro could be found in news archives or public records. More than 14 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who attended the gathering at the hall in the 1300 block of East Florence Avenue on the night of Oct. 30 and 31, 2011, who saw what happened outside or who heard later talk about who was involved, 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. The Times asked anyone with information to contact Sgt. Cotter at the sheriff's homicide bureau. Anyone with information can contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
