Mylan Paul Waggoner was 36 years old when he was found stabbed to death on the morning of Tuesday, April 5, 2011, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near Wardlow Road and Webster Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Long Beach Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, drawing on a Long Beach Police Department news release, described how he was found. Shortly before 7 a.m., officers responded to an "unknown trouble" call about a possible unconscious person at a bus stop. When police arrived, they discovered Waggoner on a bus bench. He "had been stabbed several times in the upper torso with an unknown object," the Times wrote. Paramedics were called, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The report said homicide detectives were continuing their investigation, but it gave no information about a suspect, a motive or a vehicle.
It did not say how long he had been on the bench before the call came in, whether he had been attacked there or had walked or been brought there after he was hurt, or whether anyone had seen him earlier that night. The words "unknown object" suggest that no weapon was found at the scene.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he was found, almost nothing about Mylan Waggoner has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no other news report about his death appears in the saved record. His first name is uncommon, which makes it all the more striking that he left so little trace online. He surely had family, friends or coworkers who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
The record does not say whether he was waiting for a bus, resting on the bench or simply passing through the neighborhood. It does not say where he lived or whether he had any connection to the area where he was found.
Long Beach is the second-largest city in Los Angeles County, home to one of the busiest ports in the country and to a long stretch of beachfront along San Pedro Bay. Away from the water, much of the city is made up of residential neighborhoods crossed by wide commercial streets and served by a network of bus lines. Wardlow Road is one of those east-west streets, and a bus stop there would have seen commuters, students and workers passing at all hours.
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 Mylan Paul Waggoner 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 a 36-year-old man named Mylan Waggoner, or who was near Wardlow Road and Webster Avenue in Long Beach on the night of April 4 or the early morning of April 5, 2011, 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. The Long Beach Police Department named Detectives Hugo Cortes and Peter Lackovic as the investigators on the case. Anyone with information can contact the Long Beach Police Department's Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
