Freddie Mae Brandon, born April 23, 1939, was found dead in her ground-level Los Angeles apartment on March 30, 2018. A single mother who raised seven children and grandmother to 19, she lived there for more than 20 years and was known for cooking large family meals and dancing to oldies, earning the nickname Rock Steady Freddie. At the time she lived with her granddaughter Rashanda.

Rashanda returned home and found Freddie unresponsive; police were called to a cardiac arrest at about 4:00 p.m. The apartment appeared ransacked, a dresser had been knocked over and a back door screen appeared to be cut, though police said nothing seemed to have been stolen. Freddie, who used a walker and had a pacemaker, was pronounced dead at 4:36 p.m. An autopsy ruled the cause of death as asphyxia from ligature strangulation.

The murder remains unsolved and the family seeks answers. If anyone has information about Freddie Brandon’s killing, contact the Los Angeles Police Department at (323) 786-5113 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.