Renee Mary Perez was 49 years old when she died on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005, in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 427 N. Alta Vista Blvd. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Division case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described her as "a 49-year-old white female" who "died Sunday, Oct. 23, after being stabbed in Fairfax." That brief entry, drawn from coroner's records, is nearly everything that has been made public about her death.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Renee Mary Perez 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.
Renee Perez is a common name, and searches turn up many other women who share it, including a university professor in Texas, the first wife of a well-known rock singer, and women whose obituaries were published in New York, New Jersey, Texas, New Mexico and Florida. None of them can be connected to this death. A woman of 49 had lived a long adult life, and she very likely left behind family, friends, neighbors or coworkers who still remember her.
The Fairfax district is one of the best known neighborhoods on the west side of Los Angeles. It takes its name from Fairfax Avenue and is known for the historic Farmers Market, The Grove shopping center, CBS Television City and Canter's Deli, and for its long history as a center of Jewish life in the city. Melrose Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, with their shops and restaurants, run through the area. North Alta Vista Boulevard is a residential street of houses and apartment buildings, the kind of block where neighbors often recognize one another. On a Sunday, many people may have been home, and someone 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 Renee Mary Perez 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 on or near North Alta Vista Boulevard in the Fairfax district in October 2005, or who knew Renee Perez 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 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).
