The death last month of former NFL player Kevin Johnson is probably linked to a few different killings of unhoused folks in the identical space that occurred during the last 4 months, Los Angeles County detectives stated Tuesday.
The 55-year-old Johnson, an L.A.-native who performed with the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders within the Nineteen Nineties, was found dead on Jan. 21 at an encampment within the 1300 block of E. one hundred and twentieth Avenue within the unincorporated neighborhood of Willowbrook, close to Compton. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner stated that he died from “blunt head trauma and stab wounds.”
“Between October 2025 and January 2026, 4 homicides occurred on this space and stay underneath energetic investigation by the Murder Bureau,” the L.A. County Sheriff’s Division stated a news release. “At the moment, investigators are working to find out whether or not these instances are associated.”
Detectives say that each one 4 of the victims had been unhoused individuals who had been dwelling in encampments in the identical neighborhood.
Per week after Johnson was killed, detectives had been once more referred to as to the identical space after a man was found dead close to the flood management channel.
Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Occasions by way of Getty Pictures
There was no data instantly out there on the 2 different deaths that occurred previous to January.
“Murder investigators proceed to pursue all investigative leads and stay dedicated to figuring out the person or people liable for these crimes,” the discharge stated.
Anybody who has additional data was urged to contact LASD’s Murder Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
