Karen Kathleen Alexander was a mother first and foremost, a woman remembered for her spontaneous joy, rigid discipline, and deep love for her family. Known affectionately as Karen K., the 43-year-old was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having served her country for eight years. Her daughter, LaTanya Washington, fondly recalled her mother’s "G.I. Parties," impromptu gatherings where friends and family would come together to deep clean, paint, and redecorate the house, all set to a soundtrack of music, food, and laughter. Karen was born in East Texas on November 2, 1951, and grew up with a profound appreciation for family and soul food. The loss of her own mother to diabetes at age 10 left a lasting mark of grief, but she was raised by a loving aunt and carried that sense of family into her own life as a mother to three children: LaTanya, Kevin, and Anthony.
After her military service, which took her to bases in Washington and Nevada, Karen settled in California.
She dreamed of becoming a nurse and was accepted into a nursing program. However, when her daughter LaTanya was hospitalized with appendicitis, the program's strict attendance policy forced her to make an impossible choice. A dedicated mother, she chose to leave school to care for her child. Though she never became a nurse, Karen's life was one of service, working as a homemaker and a caretaker for disabled individuals. She expressed her love through cooking, delighting her children with homemade gravy, collard greens, fried fish, and goulash. Her daughter described her as a "social butterfly" who never met a stranger and had a gift for seizing the moment, often starting a spontaneous game of jump rope in the park.
In the years before her death, Karen struggled with an addiction to crack cocaine, which had become an epidemic in the 1980s. This struggle led to a period of instability and estrangement from her family, a painful chapter in the life of a woman who valued family above all else. Despite these challenges, her love for her children remained a powerful force in her life.
The day before Mother's Day, on May 13, 1995, Karen Alexander’s life was cut short. A passing motorist discovered her body on a road running through the campus of Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California. She had been shot to death. The discovery sent a shockwave through her family, turning a weekend meant for celebration into one of permanent grief and unanswered questions. The vibrant woman who loved to cook and play with her children was gone, leaving behind a legacy of love and the deep pain of a violent, unsolved crime.
The investigation into Karen’s murder was handled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. In the initial stages, detectives worked to piece together her final hours and identify anyone who might have wanted to harm her. However, despite their efforts, the case eventually went cold. The specific details of the evidence collected at the scene have not been publicly released, and no suspects or persons of interest have ever been officially named. The path to justice for Karen and her family grew long and quiet over the ensuing decades.
For years, Karen’s children have lived with the uncertainty of not knowing who killed their mother or why. LaTanya Washington has kept her mother’s memory alive, sharing stories of her vibrant personality and her deep capacity for love. She remembers a mother who was both structured and full of life, a woman who faced personal battles but never lost her fundamental kindness. The family’s search for answers has been a long and arduous journey, marked by the hope that new technology or a new witness could one day break the silence.
As of November 2026, the homicide of Karen Kathleen Alexander remains an active, unsolved cold case with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The organization Project: Cold Case, which advocates for families of unsolved homicide victims, featured her story in a case spotlight to bring renewed attention to her murder. Decades have passed, but for Karen’s loved ones, the hope for justice endures. They wait for the day that someone with information comes forward to provide the answers they have sought for so long.
