Vincent Harold Clark was 42 years old when he died on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 4726 Tacana St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Criminal Gang and Homicide Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 42-year-old black man" who "was stabbed to death Wednesday, April 27, in the 4700 block of Tacana Street." Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner's office, said Clark was stabbed at a residence about 7:44 p.m. "He had gotten into an argument with his girlfriend when she injured him, Winter said." Clark was taken to a hospital, where he died at 8:25 p.m. The report added that "there was no additional information about the case."
That short statement is the only public account of what happened.
It identifies the person who injured him only as his girlfriend and gives no name. It does not say what the argument was about, whether either of them had been hurt before, whether she was taken into custody, or whether she said she had acted to protect herself. Whether the residence on Tacana Street was his home, hers or one they shared is also not stated.
No later news story could be found, and no court record or appellate opinion connected to his death appears in the material searched. That leaves the outcome of the case unknown to the public. Prosecutors may have filed a charge that never drew coverage, they may have concluded that the stabbing was in self-defense, or the case may simply have stalled. None of those possibilities can be confirmed from the record.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Vincent Harold Clark 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. Vincent Clark is a common name in the United States, and searches turn up many other men who share it, none of whom can be connected to this death.
The Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw area lies in the southwestern part of Los Angeles and has long been one of the centers of Black life and culture in the city. It includes hillside neighborhoods of comfortable homes, the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza shopping center and the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, as well as flatter streets of modest houses and apartment buildings.
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 Vincent Harold Clark 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 knew Vincent Clark, or who was on or near Tacana Street in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area on the evening of April 27, 2011, may hold information that could help clarify what happened. 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.
