Gary Gasca was 40 years old when he died on Sunday, July 25, 2004, in West Whittier-Los Nietos. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 10800 Ben Avon St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 40-year-old Latino male" who "died Sunday, July 25, after being stabbed in West Whittier-Los Nietos." More than a decade later, the Whittier Daily News included his death in a 2015 story about unsolved killings in the area. It reported that he "was stabbed and left for dead at the foot of the Pioneer High School football field bleachers." The paper said he "was found by people who heard him yell for help as he was attacked in the early morning of July 25, 2004," and that he "was pronounced dead at a hospital."
His obituary in the Whittier Daily News described a man working toward a new life.
Born on February 24, 1964, in Los Angeles, he was a resident of Whittier and had attended Los Nietos Jr. High School. After high school he drove a school bus "for Pupil Transportation for about 10 yrs." He then moved to Laughlin, Nevada, to work as a reservation clerk at the Flamingo Hilton, and later worked at Primm in Jean, Nevada. At the time of his death he was attending Rio Hondo College, majoring in hotel management, and "had hoped to transfer to UNLV in the Fall of 2005." The obituary said, "Gary was so proud of going to Rio Hondo College and taking each day one day at a time and getting closer to fulfill his dreams," and added, "His laughter, charm and wisdom will be greatly missed by all of us."
He was survived by his parents, sisters, brothers and a large circle of nieces, nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. A rosary was held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Los Nietos, followed by a funeral Mass, and he was buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Rowland Heights.
West Whittier-Los Nietos is an unincorporated community next to the city of Whittier, in the southeastern part of Los Angeles County. It is largely made up of single-family homes and is patrolled by the Sheriff's Department. Pioneer High School, a public high school, sits on Ben Avon Street. The 2015 Whittier Daily News story described the surrounding area as Whittier's most deadly ZIP code and said gangs made some of its homicides hard to solve.
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 Gary Gasca could be found in news archives or public records. More than 21 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. The people who heard him call for help, and anyone who was near the Pioneer High School football field in the early morning of July 25, 2004, may hold information that could help. 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).
