Nancy Adriana Salgado Arellano was 39 years old when she died on Monday, November 9, 2020, in Santa Fe Springs. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds near Norwalk Boulevard and Telegraph Road. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described her only as "a 39-year-old Latino female" who "died Monday, Nov. 9, after being stabbed near Norwalk Boulevard & Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs." The location was given as an intersection rather than a street address, which may mean she was found outdoors, on a sidewalk, in a parking lot or near the roadway, but the record does not say.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Nancy Adriana Salgado Arellano 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.
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.
Her full name carries two family surnames, Salgado and Arellano, a naming custom common in Mexico and much of Latin America, and records may list her under either one. Searches for Nancy Arellano turn up obituaries and fundraisers for other women in New Jersey, Texas and Utah, among others, none of whom can be connected to this death. Without a confirmed obituary or news report, it is not even clear which surname her family and friends used day to day.
Santa Fe Springs is a small city in southeast Los Angeles County, between Whittier and Norwalk. It is best known as an industrial and business center, with warehouses, manufacturing plants and distribution centers, and it has a relatively small residential population for its size. Norwalk Boulevard and Telegraph Road are both busy arterial streets that carry heavy traffic through the area, and passing drivers or people waiting at a bus stop might have noticed something out of the ordinary.
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 Nancy Adriana Salgado Arellano could be found in news archives or public records. More than five years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Norwalk Boulevard and Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs in early November 2020, or who knew a 39-year-old woman named Nancy Salgado or Nancy Arellano, 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
