Young Hwa Chang was 22 years old when he died on Saturday, June 1, 2002, in Glendale. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 421 N. Kenwood St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Glendale Police 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 Asian male" who "died Saturday, June 1, after being stabbed in Glendale." The entry gave a street address on North Kenwood Street, but it did not say whether he lived there, whether he was attacked there or whether that was simply where he was found. 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 Young Hwa Chang 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. Young Hwa Chang is a common name, and the same name in a slightly different spelling is shared by many people. Searches turn up only people-search listings for other men and women who have used the name. None of them can be connected to the young man who died in Glendale.
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.
At 22 he was just starting his adult life. Nothing in the record says whether he was a student or working, whether he lived with family, how long he had been in Glendale, or what he hoped to do with his life.
Glendale is one of the largest cities in Los Angeles County, lying just north of Los Angeles between the Verdugo Mountains and the Los Angeles River. It is known for its busy downtown along Brand Boulevard, the Glendale Galleria shopping mall and Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and for neighborhoods of apartment buildings near its center that give way to quieter hillside homes. The city has its own police department, which investigates homicides within its borders.
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 Young Hwa Chang 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 Young Hwa Chang in Glendale, or who was near the 400 block of North Kenwood Street at the start of June 2002, 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 contact the Glendale Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
