Miguel Bolanos Barrera was 41 years old when he died on Saturday, February 21, 2004, in Downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 621 S. Broadway. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the Central Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 41-year-old Latino male" who "died Saturday, Feb. 21, after being stabbed in Downtown." Unlike many deaths from that period, his drew a public appeal from the police. Three days later, on February 24, 2004, the LAPD issued a news advisory titled "Detective's Need Public's Help in a Homicide."
According to that advisory, at about 5:20 p.m. on February 21, Barrera "was standing near the MTA bus stop located at 621 South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles when an unknown assailant murdered him." Witnesses told police that Barrera "was seen arguing with another male of an unknown descent."
The advisory said that "the argument escalated and the suspect armed himself with a large knife, stabbing Barrera once in the upper torso." Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department took him to a local hospital, "where he died from his injury." The advisory stated plainly that "the suspect left the scene and has not been identified."
The advisory also announced a news conference that afternoon at the Central Area Community Police Station on East 6th Street. It listed Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry of the 9th Council District, Central Area detective command staff and "Victim Barrera's Family" as taking part. That his family stood with the police in public within days of his death suggests they wanted his killer found and were willing to speak about it. The advisory gave a number for Central Homicide Detectives, 213-485-2671.
Beyond that release, little about his life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. Miguel Barrera is a common name, and searches turn up many unrelated men who share it, none of whom can be connected to this death.
The stabbing happened in daylight, in the early evening, on one of the busiest streets in the city. Broadway was once the great theater and shopping street of Los Angeles, lined with grand movie palaces built in the early twentieth century. In 2004 its sidewalks were crowded with shoppers, discount stores, jewelry shops and street vendors, and buses stopped along it all day. A crowded bus stop at that hour means there may well have been people nearby who saw or heard part of the argument, even if they did not know what they were watching.
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 Miguel Bolanos Barrera 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 Miguel Bolanos Barrera, or who was near the bus stop at 621 South Broadway in the early evening of February 21, 2004, 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 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).
