Cesar Alfredo Flores was 20 years old when he died on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2000, in Sylmar. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 13185 De Garmo Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 20-year-old Latino male" who "died Wednesday, Nov. 1, after being stabbed in Sylmar." The entry gave an address on De Garmo Avenue, but it did not say whether he lived there or was found there. No follow-up story appears to have been written.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Cesar Alfredo Flores 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. Cesar Flores is a very common name, and searches turn up men in Chile, Mexico, Fresno, Pico Rivera and many other places, none of whom can be connected to this death. That commonness makes it hard to find any trace of the young man who died in Sylmar.
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.
Sylmar is the northernmost neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, tucked into the northern end of the San Fernando Valley at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. It has a semi-rural feel in places, with horse properties, nurseries and large lots, alongside neighborhoods of single-family homes and apartment complexes. Much of its population is made up of working Latino families. It is patrolled by the LAPD's Foothill Division, which also covers nearby Pacoima, Sunland and Tujunga.
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 Cesar Alfredo Flores could be found in news archives or public records. More than 25 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Cesar, who lived near the 13100 block of De Garmo Avenue in November 2000, or who heard talk among young people in Sylmar about what happened to him, 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).
