Benny Ray Ferguson Jr. was 19 years old when he died on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008, in East Compton, an unincorporated community on the edge of the city of Compton in South Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 14528 S. Harris Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave only a brief entry. It said that Ferguson, "a 19-year-old black male, died Sunday, Feb. 24, after being stabbed in East Compton, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records." No longer article followed, and no statement from sheriff's detectives about the case appears in the public record.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Benny Ray Ferguson 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. His name is shared by many men across the country, including people whose obituaries appear in South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland, none of whom has any connection to this death. The "Jr." in his name suggests that he was named for his father, but nothing more about his family has been made public.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was stabbed during a fight or a robbery, attacked by a stranger or by someone he knew, or hurt indoors or on the street. It does not say what time of day he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Friends from school or the neighborhood, relatives and anyone who spent time with him in the weeks before Feb. 24, 2008, would know far more about his life than the few lines kept by the coroner.
East Compton is a small unincorporated pocket that lies next to the city of Compton, which means that law enforcement there is handled by the Sheriff's Department rather than a city police force. It is a residential area of modest single-family homes. Compton itself is one of the older cities in the southern part of the county, known for its long history as a working-class community and for its place in the region's music and sports history.
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 Benny Ray Ferguson 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 a 19-year-old named Benny Ray Ferguson Jr., who saw him in the days before Feb. 24, 2008, or who was on or near South Harris Avenue in East Compton around that time, 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 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).
