Steven Cruze Jr., a 39-year-old father and avid fisherman, was bludgeoned to death beneath the Santa Monica Pier on September 20, 2018. Cruze had been sleeping in a hammock under the pier to avoid a long commute after working two jobs in Marina del Rey and was sometimes mistaken for homeless despite supporting his family. His killing was one of several violent attacks on people sleeping outdoors in the Los Angeles and Santa Monica area that month.

Investigators later linked Cruze’s death to a crime spree carried out from September 8 to September 24, 2018, by Ramon Alberto Escobar, who used a baseball bat or similar blunt object in most assaults. Escobar was charged in multiple murders, attempted murders, and robberies; legal filings state he pleaded guilty and received life without parole plus additional years. Cruze’s family described him as a generous, loving father; his minor son also filed a civil suit alleging negligence by the city and others over pier safety and crowding.

Did anyone who knew Steven’s routines around the pier or saw him there in September 2018 witness anything that could add detail to the timeline?