Rafaela Maria De Casas was 69 years old when she was found dead on Saturday, September 20, 2014, in her home in Torrance, in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 3845 W. 226th St. Her death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Torrance Police Department.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described what officers found when they arrived. "Police went to an apartment in the area about 8:15 p.m. and found an 'incoherent' man with self-inflicted wounds and a woman with what appeared to be stab wounds, said Torrance Police Sgt. Paul Kranke." The woman, identified as De Casas, "was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:18 p.m.," according to the coroner's office.
The Times reported that the man was her son, that he "was taken to a hospital and is in police custody," and that she "lived with her son and his wife." Sgt. Kranke offered a brief glimpse of the household.
"I think he kind of took care of her," he said. The Times added that "Kranke said it is unknown whether De Casas was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident."
That is where the public record stops. No later news report could be found saying whether anyone was formally charged in her death, whether a court case followed, or how it ended. Being taken into custody is not the same as being charged with a crime, and the records gathered for this story do not show what prosecutors decided. The account also leaves other questions open, including who called police that evening and what happened inside the apartment before officers arrived.
Beyond her name, her age and the place where she died, almost nothing about Rafaela De Casas has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. Searches for her name turn up only other women named Rafaela Casas in Texas and Northern California, none of whom can be tied to this death. The little that is known suggests she was an older woman living with family, and that someone in that household had been looking after her.
Torrance is one of the largest cities in the South Bay, a mostly residential city of single-family homes and apartment complexes, with a long stretch of beach on Santa Monica Bay and major shopping centers such as Del Amo Fashion Center. It 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 criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Rafaela Maria De Casas could be found in news archives or public records. More than 11 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived near West 226th Street in Torrance in September 2014, or who knew Rafaela De Casas and her family, may hold information that could help explain what happened that evening. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. The Times asked anyone with information to call the Torrance Police Department at 618-5570. Anyone with information can contact the Torrance Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
