David Rivera was 26 years old when he died on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001, in Palmdale, in the Antelope Valley of northern Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at the rear of 324 E. Palmdale Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 26-year-old Latino male" who "died Saturday, Nov. 10, after being stabbed in Palmdale." A short Los Angeles Times article published the next day, under the headline "County Man Found Slain in Palmdale," added more. It said that sheriff's homicide detectives were "investigating the apparent robbery and murder of a man found dead behind a Palmdale market early Saturday."
According to that report, "The body of David Rivera, 25, of Orange County was discovered about 7:15 a.m. behind Vallarta Market in the 300 block of East Palmdale Boulevard."
Deputies said he was killed sometime after 10 p.m. Friday. The newspaper gave his age as 25, one year younger than the coroner's record, but the name, date and place match. It also reported that Rivera "had been staying in Palmdale temporarily while working on a construction job, deputies said."
Those few lines say a good deal. He was not from the Antelope Valley. He had come up from Orange County for work, which suggests he may have known few people in town. He was found in the morning behind a market, hours after deputies believe he was killed, and investigators treated the killing as an apparent robbery. The article did not say what, if anything, was taken, whether anyone heard or saw a struggle, or whether detectives had a description of a suspect. No later story about the case appears to have been published.
Much else remains unknown. No obituary or memorial page could be found for him, and his family in Orange County has not spoken publicly. David Rivera is one of the most common name combinations in the country, and searches for it are dominated by a former Florida congressman, a mixed martial arts fighter and many unrelated obituaries.
Palmdale is one of the two largest cities in the Antelope Valley, a high desert region north of the San Gabriel Mountains. It grew quickly in the 1980s and 1990s as families and workers came in search of cheaper housing, and new subdivisions and shopping centers spread across the desert. The city contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for police services, so killings there are investigated by the department's Homicide Bureau.
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 David Rivera could be found in news archives or public records. More than 24 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Vallarta Market on East Palmdale Boulevard on the night of Nov. 9 or the morning of Nov. 10, 2001, or who worked with a young construction worker from Orange County that fall, 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 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).
