Arthur Willis was 34 years old when he died on Monday, November 26, 2018, in the city of Compton. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near the 1800 block of West Compton Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, with the Homicide Report naming the agency as "LASD Compton."
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him only as "a 34-year-old Black male" who "died Monday, Nov. 26, after being stabbed near the 1800 block of West Compton Boulevard in Compton." That brief entry, drawn from coroner's records, is nearly all that has been made public about how he died, four days after Thanksgiving.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Arthur Willis 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.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was stabbed during a fight or a robbery, attacked by a stranger or by someone he knew, or hurt indoors or on the street. It does not say what time of day he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Arthur Willis is a common name, which has made it harder for any trace of this particular man to surface. Searches turn up obituaries for many older men by that name, a judge in Chicago and men in several other states, none of whom can be connected to this death in Compton. No news report about the stabbing could be found. At 34, he would have had family, friends and perhaps coworkers or neighbors who knew his routines and the people he spent time with, and some of them may still remember the late fall of 2018.
Compton is a city in the south-central part of Los Angeles County, between Los Angeles and Long Beach. It is a largely residential city of single-family homes, with commercial corridors along its main boulevards, and it is home to Compton College and the county courthouse. Compton Boulevard is one of its main east-west streets, lined in many stretches with businesses, churches and homes. Since the city disbanded its own police department in 2000, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has provided its policing through the Compton Station.
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 Arthur Willis could be found in news archives or public records. More than seven years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near West Compton Boulevard in Compton in late November 2018, or who knew a 34-year-old man named Arthur Willis, 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
