Waymon Henry Sawyers was 62 years old when he died on Thursday, May 25, 2000, in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 2535 S. 10th Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Southwest Division case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described him as "a 62-year-old black male" who "died Thursday, May 25, after being stabbed in Jefferson Park." It gave no other details about what happened, and 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 Waymon Henry Sawyers 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. Waymon is an uncommon first name, yet searches for his full name turned up nothing beyond the coroner's entry.
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 coroner listed a street address rather than an intersection, which suggests he may have been hurt at or near a home, although the record does not say whether he lived there. At 62, he was much older than most people killed in Los Angeles that year, and nothing in the public record explains who might have wanted to harm him.
Jefferson Park is a historic neighborhood in South Los Angeles, close to the West Adams district. It is known for its blocks of early twentieth century Craftsman bungalows and two-story homes, many of them built when the area was a streetcar suburb. The numbered avenues that run through the neighborhood are mostly quiet residential streets lined with houses, small apartment buildings and churches, where many families have lived for decades and neighbors often know one another by sight.
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 Waymon Henry Sawyers 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 lived on or near South 10th Avenue in Jefferson Park in May 2000, or who knew a 62-year-old man named Waymon Sawyers in that part of the city, 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).
