Daniel Joseph Macias III, 20

April 8, 2006

Daniel Joseph Macias III, a 20-year-old Latino male, died Saturday, April 8, after being shot in Compton, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

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Five reader comments

Well friends, today marks 12 years I had to lay my boy to rest. I pray Daniel is at peace but here on earth there are still unanswered questions. I wish someone out there could help.

To my son's killer whoever you are: I have not forgotten you though I have never seen your face. I think about you everyday but I have never heard you speak. I pray everyday for the day that I can come face to face and meet you. I am praying for you but only so that I can know who you are and that justice finally turns it's sights on you and sends you away for a very very very long time. I want your life ruined like you ruined my family's. I want your homies to know what a worthless ***** you are when they turn their backs on you. I want your family and friends to know you are a killer. I just want you to pay for the heartache and loss we have suffered at your hands!!

— ELIZABETH MACIAS April 20, 2018 at 9:51 a.m.

This is not a memory but a statement. Daniel Joseph Macias, III is my son. His case remains unsolved as of writing. I am writing to share my thoughts and feelings on how this case has been handled by the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Daniel was killed in 2006. In 2013 the lead detective in Daniel's case was promoted so he was no longer handling his case. I was never notified. (In the 7 years since my son's death I only spoke to the detective 5 or 6 times.) I continued calling him until a detective answering the phone was kind enough to inform me Daniel's case had been transferred to another detective. This detective was kinder and more informative but details given to me at best were sketchy. The last time we spoke was October, 2017. I waited a few months and began calling and emailing the detective. Today, 04/16/18 I was just informed the detective handling was no longer there. Again, no notification given to me. The sheriff's office could not even locate my son's case in their computer to find out who was handling the case. So, his case has been transferred again. What I don't understand is if they could not locate Daniel's case in their computer system how would they know who or where it was transferred to? I am disappointed in how law enforcement has handled my son's case from the start. When Daniel was killed we lived in Compton. I have always thought they did not pay much attention because of the assumption that he was probably a gang member due to where we lived. I was counting on the Homicide Unit for relief, reassurance and most importantly, justice. Instead all I have is a sense helplessness, abandonment and desperation. I am sure I am not the only parent who has lost a child to violence. I am sure I am not the only parent who has been ignored and left by the wayside by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Unit. Something has to be done to improve the handling of these cases. It should not matter what city we live in or the color of our skin or how much time has passed. These are our children. They are not statistics. We need help. Our dead children need to be heard even if it is from the grave.

— ELIZABETH MACIAS April 16, 2018 at 9:52 a.m.

It's been 11 years since my boy Daniel Joseph Macias, III was killed in a drive by shooting. Authorities know who the killer is. There is just not enough evidence to bring charges. Witnesses at the time of the shooting refused to testify. Some witnesses have long gone. But there are still many who remain. My son was not a gang member. We just lived in Compton until we could afford to move out to a better neighborhood. It was supposed to be temporary. My son, Daniel, was caught in the crossfire of gang activity. He was a notch on someone's belt. An initiation. A Compton "statistic". I will never know his children. He never had the chance to have any. I will never know what he would have become. He was killed before he had a chance to live. Please print this in the hopes that just maybe somebody will have the courage to speak up, speak out and tell the authorities what happened on that Saturday Night, April 8, 2006 on 152nd Street in Compton. I pray everyday for justice not only for my son, but for all the innocent victims of violence that gang activity brings.

A note to my son's killer: You are still walking this earth, Living and breathing. The thought of you on the loose makes me sick to my stomach. How many more have you killed? How many more families are suffering because of you? What will you do when karma comes knocking on your door? Your family's door? Your homies' door? Remember, You can't kill Karma!!

My son is still alive through me. I am his voice. We will be heard!!

— ELIZABETH MACIAS Feb. 28, 2017 at 11:53 a.m.