Maria Leticia Vasquez

Maria Leticia Vasquez was 21 years old when she died on Saturday, September 28, 2002, in Santa Monica. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 1685 Main St. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Santa Monica 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 21-year-old Latino female" who "died Saturday, Sept. 28, after being stabbed in Santa Monica." The entry gave a street address on Main Street, but it did not say whether she lived there, worked there or was simply found there. No follow-up story about her death appears to have been published.

Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Maria Leticia Vasquez 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. She surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who she was, but none of that has entered the public record. Maria Vasquez is one of the most common women's names in the Spanish-speaking world, and searches for Maria Leticia Vasquez return a psychologist in Argentina, election and farm program lists in Mexico, a pension notice in Colombia and many social media users. None of them can be connected to this death in Santa Monica.

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.

Santa Monica is an independent beachside city on the western edge of Los Angeles County, with its own city government and its own police department. Main Street runs roughly parallel to the coast a few blocks inland, and its lower numbers lie near the city's civic center, close to the Santa Monica Freeway and a short walk from the pier and the beach. The southern stretch of Main Street, toward the Venice border, is known for its shops, cafes and restaurants.

Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. A killing in a smaller city such as Santa Monica is investigated by that city's own detectives rather than by the LAPD or the Sheriff's Department.

No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Maria Leticia Vasquez could be found in news archives or public records. More than 23 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew a 21-year-old woman named Maria Leticia Vasquez, or who was on or near Main Street in Santa Monica in late September 2002, 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 Santa Monica Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).