Melvin Buford

Melvin Buford was 35 years old when he died early on Saturday, March 13, 2010, in Westmont, an unincorporated community in South Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 8801 S. Vermont Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report said he "was stabbed shortly before midnight Friday, March 12, in the 8800 block of South Vermont Avenue in Westmont and died early the next morning." According to the Sheriff's Department, Buford "was standing outside a liquor store about 11:45 p.m., when he got into a fight that led to his stabbing." Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:39 a.m. on Saturday.

Investigators were "searching for two black men in connection with the stabbing, but further details were not released," the Times reported. The entry did not say what the fight was about, whether Buford knew the men, whether they left on foot or in a vehicle, or whether anyone else outside the store saw what happened. Liquor stores along busy boulevards often draw people coming and going late at night, which suggests there may have been witnesses, but the record does not say whether any came forward.

Beyond his name, his age and the place where he was hurt, almost nothing about Melvin Buford has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet other than the Times 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. Melvin Buford is also a name shared by several other men in other states, including people in Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois, none of whom can be tied to this death.

Because so little was released, much remains unknown to the public. The record does not say whether Buford lived nearby, whether he had gone to the store for a purchase or was simply standing outside, or how long the fight lasted before he was stabbed. It does not say whether detectives ever identified the two men they were looking for.

Westmont is an unincorporated area just south of the Los Angeles city limits, bordered on several sides by the city's South Los Angeles neighborhoods. Because it is not part of any city, it is patrolled by the Sheriff's Department rather than the LAPD. Vermont Avenue is one of the long north-south boulevards that run through South Los Angeles, lined with small businesses, churches, fast-food restaurants and liquor stores.

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 Melvin Buford could be found in news archives or public records. More than 15 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near the liquor store in the 8800 block of South Vermont Avenue late on the night of March 12, 2010, or who knew a 35-year-old man named Melvin Buford, 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 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 (8477).