Maria Victoria Kozloyan was 5 years old when she died on Sunday, June 14, 2020, in Montebello. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died after being stabbed near 609 Howard Ave. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Montebello Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described her only as "a 5-year-old white female" who "died Sunday, June 14, after being stabbed near 609 Howard Ave. in Montebello." A short online listing that republishes coroner's records noted the death under the heading "Maria Victoria Kozloyan, 5, Died By Homicide," with no further detail.
The only other public trace of her life is a memorial page at Rose Hills Mortuary in Whittier. It says that Maria Victoria Kozloyan "was born on January 19, 2015 and passed away on June 14, 2020."
The page offers a place for visitors to share memories and photos, but no written obituary or account of her life appears in the material available for this story. She was only a few months past her fifth birthday.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances of her death remain unknown to the public. The record does not say who was with her that day, whether she was hurt inside a home or elsewhere on the block, what time it happened, or whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital. It does not say whether police identified a suspect. No news story about the killing of a 5-year-old girl in Montebello could be found for this account, which is unusual for a death of a child, and it may mean that details were held back by investigators or by a court.
Kozloyan is an uncommon surname, and searches for her name turn up nothing beyond the coroner's listing and the mortuary page. There is no sign of a family fundraiser, a vigil or a statement from police in the public record.
Montebello is a city in Los Angeles County a few miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It is largely residential, with neighborhoods of single-family homes and apartment buildings, small commercial strips and parks. Howard Avenue runs through one of these residential areas. Montebello has its own police department, which investigates homicides 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 Maria Victoria Kozloyan 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 lived on or near Howard Avenue in Montebello in June 2020, or who knew Maria and her family, may hold information that could help explain what happened to her. 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 Montebello Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
