Michael Conoscenti was 56 years old when he was found stabbed to death on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, in a motel room in Woodland Hills. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 20157 Ventura Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report said that Conoscenti, "a 56-year-old white man, was stabbed to death Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the 20100 block of Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills." Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner's office, said that "Conoscenti was discovered with multiple stab wounds in a room at the Comfort Inn." He "was pronounced dead at 9:35 a.m."
A public genealogy record lists a Michael Conoscenti of California who was born on Jan. 23, 1953, and died on Oct. 27, 2009, at the age of 56, which matches the coroner's details.
Beyond that record, no obituary, memorial page or family notice describing his life, his work or his relatives could be found, and no news outlet appears to have followed up on the case.
The setting raises questions the public record never answered. The report does not say whether Conoscenti was staying at the motel as a traveler, whether he had been living there, or whether the room belonged to someone else. It does not say who found him, whether the room showed signs of a struggle, or whether anyone was seen coming or going. A killing inside a motel room suggests that he may have known his attacker or let that person in, but that is only an inference, and nothing released confirms it.
Because so little has been released, the basic circumstances remain unknown. The record does not say when during the night or morning he was hurt, whether anything was taken, or whether detectives ever identified a suspect or a motive.
Woodland Hills sits at the southwestern edge of the San Fernando Valley, in the city of Los Angeles, below the Santa Monica Mountains. Ventura Boulevard is the Valley's main commercial artery, and its Woodland Hills stretch is lined with restaurants, offices, shopping centers and motels serving travelers near the 101 Freeway. The Warner Center business district lies nearby. It is generally regarded as a comfortable suburban area, and violent deaths there are relatively uncommon.
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 Michael Conoscenti 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. Anyone who knew a 56-year-old man named Michael Conoscenti, or who stayed at or visited the Comfort Inn on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills in late October 2009, 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 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).
