John William Johnson IV

John William Johnson IV was 22 years old when he died on Saturday, August 17, 2002, in the city of Compton. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 2308 1/2 E. Compton Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.

The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 22-year-old black male" who "died Saturday, Aug. 17, after being stabbed in Compton." The address, with its "1/2" designation, is the kind often used for a rear unit or a second dwelling on the same lot, which suggests it may have been a residence, but the record does not say whether he lived there. No follow-up story about his death appears to have been published.

Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about John William Johnson IV 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. John Johnson is among the most common names in the United States. The suffix "IV" shows that he carried a name passed down through at least three earlier generations of his family. Searches for the name turn up many other men, including a famous basketball player and a man with a similar name listed on a memorial to crime victims in Kern County, but none of them can be connected to this death.

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.

He was 22, a young man at the start of his adult life.

Compton is a city in the southern part of Los Angeles County, between Los Angeles and Long Beach. Compton Boulevard is one of its main east-west streets, lined with small businesses, churches and homes. The city disbanded its own police department in 2000 and began contracting with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, so by the time of his death sheriff's deputies patrolled Compton and the department's Homicide Bureau took charge of killings there.

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 John William Johnson IV 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 22-year-old man named John Johnson in Compton, or who was near the 2300 block of East Compton Boulevard in mid-August 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).