Chanc Erikson Tidwell was 32 years old when he died on Thursday, November 30, 2006, somewhere in Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds. 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 recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 32-year-old white male" who "died Thursday, Nov. 30, after being stabbed." Unlike most entries, it gave no street address and no neighborhood or city, so the public record does not even say where he was hurt. Because the case belongs to the Sheriff's Department, it most likely happened in an unincorporated area or in one of the many cities that contract with the department for police services, but that is an inference, not something the record states.
His family did leave a trace.
An online memorial page was created "in memory of our loved one, Chanc Tidwell, 32 years old, born on August 25, 1974, and passed away on November 30, 2006." The memorial spells his middle name Erickson. Rose Hills Mortuary in Whittier also lists an obituary for Chanc Tidwell, which suggests that the funeral arrangements were handled there, though its listing gives the date of death as November 20, which appears to be an error. Neither page, as saved, says how he died or describes his life, his work or the people he left behind.
Chanc is an unusual spelling of a first name, and no other man of that name and age turns up in the records searched, so these pages almost certainly refer to him. No news story about his death could be found.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say where he was stabbed, whether during a fight or a robbery, by a stranger or by someone he knew, or 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.
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 Chanc Erikson Tidwell could be found in news archives or public records. More than 19 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Chanc Tidwell, who was born in August 1974, or who knows where and how he was hurt in late November 2006, 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).
