Juan Cortez was 33 years old when he died on Monday, August 3, 2020, in Altadena, an unincorporated community at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after being stabbed near 686 Devirian Place. His 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 him as "a 33-year-old Latino male" who "died Monday,
Aug. 3, after being stabbed near 686 Devirian Place in Altadena." A report by Brian Day in Pasadena Now, published on August 7, 2020, added more detail. It said he was "a 33-year-old Altadena man who was stabbed to death in a residential neighborhood," and that he "died following the 9:15 p.m. attack in the 600 block of Devirian Place." Authorities had at first described him as 23 years old.
According to that report, deputies were sent to what witnesses first reported as a shooting, but they found him suffering from "apparent puncture wounds," in the words of a sheriff's spokeswoman. Paramedics took him to a hospital, where "he succumbed to his wounds shortly after midnight on Monday," the report said, which means the attack itself happened on the Sunday night.
Detectives offered one important detail. They "determined that the victim was involved in an 'altercation' with at least two other men, estimated to be in their 20s," the report said. "The motive was unclear." No names or descriptions of those men were released.
Pasadena Now also reported that Juan Cortez had a criminal record, citing court records, including a 2015 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in a 2014 attack outside an Altadena restaurant and later assault convictions. That history does not explain what happened on Devirian Place, and it does not lessen the fact that he was killed.
No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser for him could be found for this story. Juan Cortez is a very common name, and searches turn up many other men who share it across the country, none of whom can be connected to this death.
Altadena lies just north of Pasadena, a community of tree-lined residential streets, older homes and long-established families, with the mountains rising behind it. Because it is not part of any city, it is patrolled by the Sheriff's Department's Altadena Station. In January 2025, the Eaton fire swept through the community and destroyed thousands of homes, scattering many longtime residents.
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 Juan Cortez 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. Detectives said at least two other men were involved in the altercation. Anyone who was on or near Devirian Place in Altadena on the night of Sunday, August 2, 2020, or who knows who Juan Cortez was with that night, may hold information that could help, even if they have since moved away. 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.
