Perry McDonald was 36 years old when he died on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005, in Inglewood, the city just southwest of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 530 E. Hargrave St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an Inglewood Police Department case.
The coroner's record describes him as a Black man in his mid-30s. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Perry McDonald 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.
Searches for his name turned up only other men called Perry McDonald, among them a Georgetown University basketball player of the 1980s who grew up in New Orleans, men named in court and police records in Louisiana, Tennessee and New Zealand, and people with social media profiles in other parts of the country. None of them could be tied to the man who died in Inglewood, and the name is common enough that any record of his life is hard to separate from theirs.
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.
The coroner gave a specific street address on East Hargrave Street. That may mean he was found at or near a home or apartment building, but the record does not say whether he lived there, was visiting, or was found outside on the street.
Inglewood is an older city of about a hundred thousand people that lies between South Los Angeles and Los Angeles International Airport. For decades it was best known as the home of the Forum, where the Lakers and Kings played for many years, and of the Hollywood Park racetrack, which was still running in 2005. Away from the big landmarks, much of the city is made up of quiet residential streets of small houses and apartment buildings, and families on those blocks often know their neighbors well. Inglewood has its own police department, which handles homicides inside the city limits.
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 Perry McDonald 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 lived on or near East Hargrave Street in October 2005, who knew Perry or the people he spent time with, or who heard later talk about what happened that Tuesday, 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 Inglewood Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
