Terry Williamson Jr. was 29 years old when he died on Monday, May 5, 2008, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 2001 Cedar Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Long Beach Police Department.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report included his death in a roundup that began, "At least four homeless people have been killed in L.A. County in the last two weeks." His place in that report suggests that he may have been homeless at the time, although the entry about him does not say so directly. The report said that Williamson "was stabbed to death at 2001 Cedar Ave. in Long Beach at 1:30 a.m." that Monday.
According to Sgt. Dina Zapalski of the Long Beach Police Department, Williamson "was standing in front of an apartment building when he was stabbed in the upper torso by two Latino men." He "was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2 a.m., police said."
The report did not describe the two men beyond that, did not say whether they fled on foot or in a car, and did not give a motive. It asked anyone with information to call Long Beach Dets. David Rios and William K. Matsubara at (562) 570-7244.
That account means that at least two people know exactly what happened in front of that building. The hour, the address and the description of the attackers suggest that there may also have been residents or passers-by who saw or heard part of it, but no witness has been described in the public record.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Terry Williamson Jr. 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. Terry Williamson Jr. is also a name shared by other men, including a Georgia man of the same name who died later in 2008, none of whom has any connection to this death. His name appears on a community list of Long Beach homicide victims shared online, with the date and the word "Stabbing," but the list adds nothing more.
Long Beach is the second-largest city in Los Angeles County, a port city on San Pedro Bay with a busy downtown and dense neighborhoods of older apartment buildings and bungalows stretching north and west of it. Cedar Avenue is a residential street in the central part of the city, in an area of apartment buildings, small homes and corner businesses close to some of the city's main east and west corridors.
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 Terry Williamson Jr. could be found in news archives or public records. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Terry Williamson Jr., who lived near Cedar Avenue in May 2008, or who saw two men leave the area in the early hours of May 5, 2008, 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 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).
