Maria De Jesus Guzman-Neriz was 44 years old when she was stabbed to death on Saturday, March 12, 2011, in South Whittier. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, she died of stab wounds at 10754 Carmenita 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, drawing on a Sheriff's Department news release, said the stabbing "was the result of a domestic dispute between Guzman-Neriz and her husband." According to officials, "The husband stabbed himself after stabbing the victim." When deputies arrived, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her husband was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. Homicide detectives planned to interview him once his condition improved, the Times reported. Sheriff's officials had no other information about the killing, and no follow-up story appears to have been written.
The public record does not say whether he was later arrested, whether prosecutors ever filed charges, or how any case ended.
That gap is what keeps this death on a list of unresolved cases. Investigators told the public in 2011 who they believed was responsible, yet no court record, news report or press release could be found that shows anyone was held to account for her death. It is possible that a case was filed and simply never reported, and it is also possible that it never reached a courtroom at all.
Beyond her name, her age and the circumstances described by the sheriff's department, almost nothing about Maria Guzman-Neriz has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. Her name, like many double surnames, appears in a number of different spellings in records, which may make any memorial harder to find. She surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who she was, but none of that has entered the public record.
The record does not say whether the address was the couple's home, how long they had been married, whether there had been earlier trouble between them or whether anyone else was present that day.
South Whittier is an unincorporated community in southeast Los Angeles County, next to the city of Whittier, and is patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. It is a largely residential area of single-family homes and apartment complexes, with shopping centers and businesses along its main roads. Carmenita Road is one of the long north-south streets that run through the area.
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 De Jesus Guzman-Neriz could be found in news archives or public records. More than 14 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Maria Guzman-Neriz, or who lived on or near Carmenita Road in South Whittier in March 2011, may hold information that could help clarify what became of this case. 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 (8477).
