Basil Jamil Alfar was 40 years old when he died on Friday, July 28, 2006, in East Compton, in southern Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 15607 S. Atlantic 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 only the basic facts. It said Alfar, "a 40-year-old white male," died "after being stabbed in East Compton," according to the coroner's records. No follow-up story appears to have been written, and no news outlet seems to have reported what happened at the Atlantic Avenue address on that summer day.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Basil Jamil Alfar 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 uncommon in Los Angeles County, which makes the silence around his death stand out. A man with a distinctive name like his would likely be remembered by the people who knew him, at work, in his neighborhood or in his family, and some of them may still wonder what became of the investigation.
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.
The address where he died is a numbered street address rather than an intersection, which suggests he was hurt at or near a home, business or other building on Atlantic Avenue, although the record does not say which. It also does not say whether he lived in the area or was only passing through.
East Compton is an unincorporated community on the east side of the city of Compton, so it is patrolled by the Sheriff's Department rather than by a city police force. Atlantic Avenue is one of the long north-south boulevards that cross this part of the county, lined with small businesses, homes and apartment buildings. The neighborhoods around it are largely working-class.
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 Basil Jamil Alfar 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 was near the 15600 block of South Atlantic Avenue in East Compton in late July 2006, or who knew a 40-year-old man named Basil Alfar, 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).
