James Edward Hatten

James Edward Hatten was 48 years old when he died on Friday, August 13, 2004, in the Westlake area of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 2nd Street and Lucas Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division.

The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 48-year-old black male" who "died Friday, Aug. 13, after being stabbed in Westlake." The location in the record is an intersection rather than a street address, which suggests he may have been found outdoors, on or near the street, though the record does not say so. 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 James Edward Hatten 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.

The name James Hatten is not especially common, but searches turn up several men who shared it. One, a 73-year-old man from Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia, died in 2022, and others are remembered in obituaries from Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Louisiana. None of them can be connected to the man who died in Los Angeles in 2004.

Westlake lies just west of downtown Los Angeles, and it is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city. Its best known landmark is MacArthur Park, with its lake and its long history as a gathering place, and the neighborhood is filled with older apartment buildings, small shops, street vendors and busy bus lines. For decades it has been home to many working families and recent arrivals to the city, as well as to people living on very little. The streets near the edge of downtown, where this death was recorded, carry heavy traffic and foot traffic at most hours. The area falls under the LAPD's Rampart Division, which patrols Westlake and several neighboring communities.

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 James Edward Hatten 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 48-year-old man named James Hatten, or who was near 2nd Street and Lucas Avenue in mid-August 2004, 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).