Allan Hernandez was 24 years old when he died on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008, in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 11333 Hawthorne Blvd., an address listed under Hawthorne. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave only a short entry. It said that Hernandez, "a 24-year-old Latino male, died Sunday, Sept. 28, after being stabbed in Hawthorne, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records." No longer article followed, and no statement from investigators appears in the public record.
One record online appears to refer to him. A Find a Grave memorial lists an Allan Roberto Hernandez who was born in 1984 and died in 2008, and it gives his place of death as Hawthorne, California.
The years and the place fit the man in the coroner's record, which suggests that Roberto was his middle name, although the memorial page itself was not available for this story and the match cannot be confirmed. No obituary describing his life, his work or his family could be found, and no news outlet appears to have reported on his death.
Allan Hernandez is also a common name. It is shared by a Texas man who appealed an assault conviction in 2018, a medical researcher in Mexico and others across the country, none of whom has any connection to this death.
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.
Hawthorne is a city in the South Bay, south of Inglewood and east of the beaches, best known as the hometown of the Beach Boys and for its long history in the aerospace industry. Hawthorne Boulevard is its main north-south commercial street, lined with shops, restaurants, auto businesses and apartment buildings. Hawthorne has its own police department, so the fact that the Sheriff's Department handled this case may mean that the address lay in a neighboring unincorporated area or that the Sheriff's homicide detectives were called in, but the record does not say which.
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 Allan Hernandez could be found in news archives or public records. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew a 24-year-old named Allan Hernandez, or who was on or near Hawthorne Boulevard close to the 11300 block in late September 2008, 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 (8477).
