Renika Rochelle Mason

Renika Rochelle Mason was 22 years old when she died on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2001, in Inglewood. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 4652 Century Blvd. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as an Inglewood Police Department case.

The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded her death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It described her as "a 22-year-old black female" who "died Wednesday, Aug. 22, after being stabbed in Inglewood." The entry gave an address on Century Boulevard, but it did not say whether that was her home, the home of someone she knew, a business or simply the place where she was found. No follow-up story about her death appears to have been published.

Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Renika Rochelle Mason 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 an uncommon one, and the searches made for this story found no other trace of her at all, not even a namesake.

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 22 she was a young woman, only a few years into adult life. Nothing in the record says whether she was working or in school, whether she had children, how long she had lived in Inglewood, or who was left behind when she died. Those are the kinds of details a single coroner's line leaves out, and that only the people who knew her could supply.

Inglewood is a city in the southwestern part of Los Angeles County, just east of Los Angeles International Airport. It has long been known as the home of the Forum arena, and in more recent years of SoFi Stadium. Century Boulevard is one of its main east-west streets, a busy corridor that leads west toward the airport and is lined with homes, apartment buildings and businesses.

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 Renika Rochelle Mason could be found in news archives or public records. More than 24 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived or worked near the 4600 block of West Century Boulevard in Inglewood in late August 2001, or who knew a 22-year-old woman named Renika Rochelle Mason, 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 Inglewood Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).