George Anaya

George Anaya was 36 years old when he died on Sunday, May 7, 2006, in the South Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 643 E. 52nd St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Newton Division case.

The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 36-year-old Latino male" who "died Sunday, May 7, after being stabbed in South Park." That short entry, drawn from coroner's records, is nearly everything that has been made public about his death.

Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about George Anaya 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.

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.

George Anaya is a fairly common name, and searches turn up many other men who share it, including a longtime magistrate judge in New Mexico, a young Marine killed in Vietnam in 1970, a teacher in Texas and men whose obituaries were published in California, Arkansas and Texas. None of them can be connected to this death. A man of 36 very likely left behind parents, brothers or sisters, friends and perhaps children of his own who still remember him.

South Park is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles that takes its name from South Park, one of the older public parks in the city. Its streets are lined with modest houses, duplexes and small apartment buildings, along with corner stores, churches and small businesses. The neighborhood falls within the LAPD's Newton Division, which covers a dense, working-class part of South Los Angeles. On a residential street like East 52nd Street, neighbors often know one another, and someone who was home that Sunday may have seen or heard something.

Los Angeles still recorded roughly 480 to 520 homicides a year in the mid-2000s, and many of those killings were never solved.

No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of George Anaya 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 on or near East 52nd Street in South Park in May 2006, or who knew George Anaya and spent time with him in the days before his death, 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 (877-LAPD-24-7), or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).