Ena Diaz Hernandez was 45 years old when she died on Saturday, April 1, 2006, in Pomona. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 402 E. Foothill Blvd. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Pomona Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described her as "a 45-year-old Latino female" who "died Saturday, April 1, after being stabbed in Pomona." A list of Pomona homicides compiled by a community group and posted on Facebook also includes her name, her age, the Foothill Boulevard address and the word "Stabbed." Those two brief entries are nearly all that has been made public about her death.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Ena Diaz Hernandez 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.
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.
Ena is not a common first name, but Hernandez is one of the most common surnames in California, and searches turn up several other women named Ena Hernandez, including women in Florida, Alabama and Maryland. None of them can be connected to this death. A woman of 45 very likely left behind relatives and friends, and possibly children, who still remember her, but none of their words have entered the public record.
Pomona is one of the larger cities in the eastern part of Los Angeles County, near the border with San Bernardino County. It is home to the Fairplex, where the Los Angeles County Fair is held, and to Cal Poly Pomona. Foothill Boulevard crosses the northern part of Pomona from west to east and is part of the old route of the famous Route 66. Along that stretch it passes homes, apartment buildings, motels, shopping centers and small businesses, and it carries steady traffic through the day and night. A stabbing at an address on such a well-traveled road may have been seen or heard by neighbors, workers or passing drivers who never came forward.
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 Ena Diaz Hernandez 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 Foothill Boulevard in Pomona at the start of April 2006, or who knew Ena Hernandez and spent time with her in the days before her 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 contact the Pomona Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
