Christopher Fridd was 28 years old when he died on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007, in Covina. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 700 E. Rowland St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Covina Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave a short but telling account of how he died. It said that Fridd, "a white man, was stabbed multiple times during an argument with a neighbor at 700 East Rowland Avenue in Covina, and died at 9:25 pm. Sunday, Sept. 2." The entry named the street as Rowland Avenue, while the data attached to it lists Rowland Street. It did not say whether the argument happened inside a home, in a shared yard or on the street, or what the two men were arguing about.
The Times description is unusual for an unsolved case, because it says plainly who the other person in the fight was: a neighbor. That suggests police knew, or quickly learned, who was involved.
Yet no later news report about an arrest, a criminal charge or a court case could be found, and no account says whether investigators treated the stabbing as murder, manslaughter or something the neighbor claimed was self-defense. The record simply stops after that single sentence.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Christopher Fridd 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.
The report did not describe how long the dispute had been going on, whether there had been trouble between the neighbors before, or whether anyone else was present. It did not say who called for help, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether anyone was taken into custody that night. Those who lived nearby in 2007, and anyone who heard raised voices on the evening of Sept. 2, may remember far more than was ever written down.
Covina is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, east of downtown Los Angeles, that grew up around citrus groves in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its small historic downtown, centered on Citrus Avenue, still reflects that past. Today it is largely a residential suburb of single-family homes, apartments and shopping centers, with its own police department, which handles killings within the city limits.
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 Christopher Fridd could be found in news archives or public records. More than 18 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived on or near East Rowland in Covina in September 2007, who knew Christopher Fridd or his neighbors, or who saw or heard the argument that Sunday night, may hold information that could help. 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 Covina Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
