Turiya Lovejoy Johnson was 21 years old when she died on Saturday, June 24, 2000. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case, handled by the department's Homicide Bureau.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded her death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described her as "a 21-year-old black female" who "died Saturday, June 24, after being stabbed." Unlike most entries in the database, hers gave no street address and no neighborhood or city, so even the place where she was hurt has not been made public. The entry did not say whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, and no follow-up story appears to have been written.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Turiya Lovejoy Johnson 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. She surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who she was, but none of that has entered the public record. Her name is far less common than most. Turiya is an unusual first name, and the combination of Turiya and Lovejoy is distinctive enough that anyone who knew her would likely recognize it at once, even after many years.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether she was stabbed during a fight or a robbery, attacked by a stranger or by someone she knew, or hurt indoors or on the street. It does not say what time of day she was hurt, whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
At 21, she was a young woman at the very start of adult life. She had people around her, parents, siblings, friends or coworkers, who noticed when she was gone and who may still wonder what happened to her.
Because the case belongs to the Sheriff's Department, the stabbing most likely happened in an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County or in one of the many cities that contract with the department for police services, though the record does not say where. The Sheriff's Homicide Bureau investigates killings across a vast territory, from neighborhoods near downtown Los Angeles to the desert communities of the Antelope Valley.
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 Turiya Lovejoy Johnson 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 young woman named Turiya Lovejoy Johnson, or who remembers hearing about a 21-year-old woman stabbed in Los Angeles County in late June 2000, 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).
