Michael Mason

Michael Mason was 48 years old when he died on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2000, in downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 107 E. 6th St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Division.

The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 48-year-old black male" who "died Saturday, Oct. 7, after being stabbed in Downtown." The entry gave a street address on Sixth Street, but it did not say whether he lived there, was passing through or was simply 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 Michael Mason 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. Michael Mason is a very common name in the United States, and searches turn up many other men who share it, including defendants in unrelated murder cases in San Diego County and Washington, D.C., years after this death. None of them has any connection to the man who died on Sixth Street.

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.

The address lies in the older part of downtown Los Angeles, a few blocks east of the historic core of Broadway and Spring Street. In 2000 this part of downtown was a mix of aging commercial buildings, garment and wholesale businesses, and single-room-occupancy hotels, and it sat close to Skid Row, where thousands of homeless and very poor people lived in shelters, missions and on the sidewalks. The redevelopment that later converted many old office buildings in the area into lofts had barely begun. Many people who died violently in that part of the city in those years were known only to a small circle of acquaintances.

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 Michael Mason 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 a 48-year-old man named Michael Mason, or who lived, worked or stayed near Sixth and Main streets in downtown Los Angeles in October 2000, may hold information that could help. A former neighbor, a shelter worker or someone who shared the street with him may remember something about his last days. 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).