Maria Josefina Sandoval

Maria Josefina Sandoval was 37 years old when she died on Sunday, June 18, 2006, in Bell Gardens, in southeastern Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 6249 Agra St. Her 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 her death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described her as "a 37-year-old Latino female" who "died Sunday, June 18, after being stabbed in Bell Gardens." The entry gave a street address, and a public people-search listing connects a woman named Maria Josefina Sandoval to that same address, which suggests she may have died at or near her own home. The record does not say who found her or whether anyone else was there.

Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Maria Josefina Sandoval 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. She surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who she was, but none of that has entered the public record. Maria Sandoval is a very common name in Southern California and across the Spanish-speaking world, and searches turn up obituaries for many other women who share it, none of whom can be tied to this death.

Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether she was stabbed during a fight or a robbery, attacked by a stranger or by someone she knew, or hurt indoors or on the street. It does not say what time of day she was hurt, whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.

She died on a Sunday, which in 2006 was also Father's Day, a day when many households in the area would have been gathered with family. Whether that played any part in what happened is not known.

Bell Gardens is a small, densely populated city in the southeastern part of Los Angeles County, a few miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is largely a community of working families, with blocks of small homes and apartment buildings, and it is perhaps best known outside the area as the home of a large card casino.

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 Maria Josefina Sandoval 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 Agra Street in Bell Gardens in June 2006, or who knew a 37-year-old woman named Maria Sandoval there, 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).