Jose Ismael Fuentes was 43 years old when he died on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, in Boyle Heights, on the Eastside of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after being beaten and stabbed in the 2500 block of East Whittier Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Hollenbeck Division case.
He was a Latino man in his 40s. He was attacked on the evening of Monday, Dec. 7, and survived for three days before he died at a hospital. The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave a brief account of what led to the stabbing, based on information from the coroner's office. Craig Harvey, chief coroner investigator, said Fuentes "apparently grabbed a baseball bat and confronted two people. One person then pulled out a knife and stabbed him." He was stabbed at about 6 p.m. on Dec. 7 and died at 8:50 a.m. on Dec. 10, according to Harvey.
That account leaves many questions open.
It does not say who the two people were, whether Fuentes knew them, or what led him to confront them. It does not say whether the confrontation began as an argument, a dispute over property or something else, or whether anyone else was hurt. The account also does not say how Fuentes was beaten or by whom. No public record could be found showing that either person was identified, questioned or arrested, or that police or prosecutors ever made a finding about what happened.
Beyond that report, almost nothing about Jose has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no other news outlet appears to have reported on his death. His name is a very common one, and searches turn up only other men with the same name in other places. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Boyle Heights lies just east of downtown Los Angeles, across the Los Angeles River. It is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, known for Mariachi Plaza, its historic churches and its long history as a home for immigrant families. Whittier Boulevard is one of its main commercial streets, running east toward East Los Angeles and lined with small shops, restaurants, auto businesses and homes. At 6 p.m. in early December it is already dark, but the boulevard is usually busy with traffic and people walking home or shopping.
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 Jose Ismael Fuentes could be found in news archives or public records. More than 16 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Because the confrontation took place on a busy boulevard in the early evening, it is possible that people passing by saw part of it. Anyone who was in the 2500 block of East Whittier Boulevard on the evening of Dec. 7, 2009, or who knew Jose and the people he may have had trouble with, 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 (877-LAPD-24-7), or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
