Jeffery Alan Baxley was 46 years old when he died on Friday, July 19, 2002, in Highland Park, in northeast Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 140 S. Ave 53. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case, assigned to the Northeast Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 46-year-old white male" who "died Friday, July 19, after being stabbed in Highland Park." The entry gave a residential street address, which suggests he may have been hurt at or near a home, although the record does not say so. No news story about his death appears to have been published.
His family did make sure his life was marked in print. Ten days after his death, on July 29, 2002, a paid obituary appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
It began: "Baxley, Jeffery Alan Born March 28, 1956 in Cheyenne, Wyoming and died July 19, 2002 in Los Angeles." Only that opening line could be found for this story, so the rest of what his family wrote about him, including any survivors or service details, is not part of this account. The obituary shows that he was a native of Wyoming who had made his way to Los Angeles, and that someone who cared about him took the time to announce his death.
Searches for his name turn up a few other men named Jeffery Baxley, including one born in 1967 who is buried in Georgia, but none of them can be connected to the man who died in Highland Park.
Because so little has been released, the basic circumstances of his death 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 outside. It does not say what time of day he was hurt, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Highland Park is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, set in the hills of northeast Los Angeles along the Arroyo Seco. It grew up in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and many of its streets are lined with Craftsman bungalows and Victorian homes. Figueroa Street and York Boulevard are its main commercial streets. In 2002 it was a largely working-class neighborhood, home to many Latino families, artists and longtime residents.
Homicides in Los Angeles rose sharply in the early 2000s, climbing past 600 in 2002, and detectives carried heavy caseloads. Many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Jeffery Alan Baxley 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 lived on or near Avenue 53 in Highland Park in July 2002, or who knew a 46-year-old man from Wyoming named Jeffery Baxley, 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).
