Jon Keeley Wilson was 33 years old when he died on Thursday, November 23, 2006, in Florence-Firestone, an unincorporated community south of downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 6362 Makee Ave. 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 33-year-old black male" who "died Thursday, Nov. 23, after being stabbed in Florence-Firestone." That Thursday was Thanksgiving Day, a day when many families gather, but the entry did not say whether he was at home, with relatives or friends, or out on the street when he was hurt. No follow-up story appears to have been written.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Jon Keeley Wilson 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. Jon Wilson is a very common name in the United States, and searches turn up many other men who share it, none of whom can be tied to this death. His middle name, Keeley, is more distinctive, but it does not appear in any of the records searched.
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.
Florence-Firestone is one of the largest unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County, named for two of its main streets, Florence Avenue and Firestone Boulevard. It lies between the city of Los Angeles and the cities of Huntington Park and South Gate, and the Metro rail line that runs between downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach passes through it. Because it is not part of any city, its policing is handled by the Sheriff's Department. It is a dense, working-class area of small houses, apartment buildings and commercial strips.
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 Jon Keeley Wilson 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 lived on or near Makee Avenue in Florence-Firestone in November 2006, or who saw or heard anything there on Thanksgiving Day that year, 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).
