Michael Anthony White was 51 years old when he died on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005, Christmas Eve, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at Magnolia Avenue and 19th Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Long Beach Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 51-year-old black male" who "died Saturday, Dec. 24, after being stabbed in Long Beach." That short entry, drawn from coroner's records, is nearly all that has been made public about his death.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Michael Anthony White 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.
Michael Anthony White is one of the most common name combinations in the United States, and that makes his story especially hard to trace. Searches turn up an author, men facing criminal cases in Virginia, Georgia, Idaho, Pennsylvania and Florida, and many obituaries of other men with the same name, none of whom can be connected to the man who died in Long Beach.
He died on Christmas Eve, one of the busiest nights of the year for family gatherings, church services and last-minute shopping. That means more people than usual may have been out that night, and someone may have seen or heard something.
Long Beach is the second-largest city in Los Angeles County, a port city on San Pedro Bay known for one of the busiest harbors in the country, the Queen Mary and a long stretch of beachfront. Away from the waterfront, its central and western neighborhoods north of downtown are mostly dense residential areas of older houses, small apartment buildings, corner stores and churches, home to many working families. Long Beach has its own police department, which is why the case belongs to its detectives rather than to the sheriff or the Los Angeles Police Department.
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 Michael Anthony White could be found in news archives or public records. More than 20 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Magnolia Avenue and 19th Street in Long Beach on Christmas Eve 2005, or who knew Michael and where he spent his days and nights, may hold information that could help detectives. 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 Long Beach Police Department's Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
