Patricia Rae Gamell was 71 years old when she died on Saturday, December 4, 2004, in Pomona. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 3745 Valley Blvd. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Pomona Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded her death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described her as "a 71-year-old white female" who "died Saturday, Dec. 4, after being stabbed in Pomona." The entry did not say whether the Valley Boulevard address was her home, a business or simply the place where she was found. No follow-up news story about her death appears to have been published.
Years later, her name appeared on a list of Pomona homicide victims kept by a community Facebook page called Take Back Pomona. The entry repeats what the coroner recorded: "Patricia Rae Gamell 71 12/04/2004 3745 Valley Boulevard Stabbed."
It adds nothing more about who she was, but it shows that someone in the city still counted her among the people Pomona has lost.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Patricia Rae Gamell has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found that clearly refers to her. At 71, she had likely lived through decades of family life and friendships, 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.
The violent death of a woman in her seventies is the kind of case that often stays with the people who knew her. Whoever stabbed her ended a long life in a way no one should have to face, and her family was left without answers.
Pomona is a city at the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, near the San Bernardino County line. It is home to the Los Angeles County Fair, held for generations at the Fairplex, and to Cal Poly Pomona. Valley Boulevard is a long commercial road that runs east and west through the region, lined with businesses, motels and auto shops.
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 Patricia Rae Gamell could be found in news archives or public records. More than 21 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew a 71-year-old woman named Patricia Rae Gamell, or who lived, worked or spent time on or near Valley Boulevard in Pomona in December 2004, 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).
