Darius Truly, 26

Darius Ever Truly, 26, a black man, was found stabbed to death in the 3600 block of Bentley Avenue in Palms about 3:20 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. He had been at a party--large and loud enough for police to have come at some point during the night to quiet guests. Afterward, he was walking down the street with a cousin. A suspect, or perhaps more than one, walked up and stabbed them both. Truly died at the scene. The cousin was not as badly injured, and ran away.

Truly was an actor. He had studied theater in college, said a college friend, and had arrived from Tennessee in recent months to play Black Panther Bobby Seale in a production of "The Chicago Conspiracy Trial" at the Odyssey Theatre. The production was reviewed by both the L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times. He had no criminal record, nor do police believe he was involved in any way in local street fighting or gang wars.