Eddie Baez was 20 years old when he died on Saturday, August 27, 2005, in Inglewood. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 11027 S. Prairie Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an Inglewood Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 20-year-old Latino male" who "died Saturday, Aug. 27, after being stabbed in Inglewood." That short entry 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 Eddie Baez 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.
Eddie Baez is a fairly common name, and searches turn up many men who share it, among them a New York club DJ and remixer, a man charged in a federal drug case in Philadelphia, and men whose obituaries appeared in Utah, Illinois and Texas. None of them can be connected to the young man who died in Inglewood. At 20, he was barely an adult, and he very likely left behind parents, siblings, classmates and friends who still remember him, but none of their words have entered the public record.
Inglewood is a city of about 100,000 people in the southwestern part of Los Angeles County, near Los Angeles International Airport. In 2005 it was best known as the home of the Forum, the arena where the Lakers once played, and of Hollywood Park racetrack. Prairie Avenue is one of the city's main north-south streets, running past homes, apartment buildings, shops and small businesses. The address in the record is a street address on that busy corridor, which suggests that people living or working nearby may have seen or heard something that night or that day, though the record does not say whether he was hurt indoors or outside.
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 Eddie Baez 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 knew Eddie Baez, or who was on or near South Prairie Avenue in Inglewood in late August 2005, may hold information that could help investigators. 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).
