Dennis Bruce Trollope was 49 years old when he died on Monday, September 13, 2004, in Echo Park. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 1617 Allesandro St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the Northeast Division.
Unlike many killings from that year, his death drew a public appeal from the police. In a news advisory dated November 17, 2004, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that Northeast Area homicide detectives would hold a news conference at the Northeast police station on San Fernando Road to announce a $25,000 reward. The advisory said the murder occurred "at about 12:30 a.m., in the 1600 block of North Allesandro Street in Echo Park."
The advisory also described the last known sighting of him. "Mr. Trollope was seen exiting his Ford pick-up truck in the afternoon of September 12, 2004," it said.
"He was in the company of an unidentified male, who was wearing a straw hat and carrying a dark colored duffel bag." Detectives were careful about what that meant. "At this time in the investigation, the unidentified person's involvement in the homicide is unknown," the advisory said. "Detectives would like to identify and interview this person in relation to the murder of Mr. Trollope."
The reward was offered by the City of Los Angeles "for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for this case." City Council records from October 2004 also list an item concerning his death, which suggests that the reward went through the council in the weeks after the killing. Beyond the advisory, little about his life has been made public. No obituary or memorial page for him could be found, and the record does not say where he lived, what he did for a living or who his family was.
Echo Park is one of the older neighborhoods of Los Angeles, set in the hills northwest of downtown. It takes its name from Echo Park Lake, a city park with a lake that has long drawn families, walkers and anglers. The neighborhood is a mix of small houses, older apartment buildings and stairways climbing the hillsides, with Sunset Boulevard as its main commercial street and Dodger Stadium just to the east. Allesandro Street is a residential street in the area, and a killing there shortly after midnight may have been heard or noticed by someone living nearby.
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 Dennis Bruce Trollope 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 was in Echo Park on September 12 or 13, 2004, who saw Dennis with a man in a straw hat carrying a dark duffel bag, or who knows who that man was, 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 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).
