The Homicide Report

A story for every victim

The Homicide Report

Died on
June 20, 2014

Willowbrook
11600 block of Willowbrook Avenue
Age: 65
Gender: Male
Cause: Blunt force
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Agency: LASD

John Wayne Whitmore, 65

June 20, 2014

John Wayne Whitmore, a 65-year-old black man, died Friday, June 20, after being beaten a week earlier at a Metro Blue Line stop in the 11600 block of Willowbrook Avenue in Watts, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

On June 13, Whitmore was standing on the train platform at the Imperial/Wilmington stop when two black women approached him and began to beat him, said Lt. Dave Coleman with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

After Whitmore collapsed, the women fled. Whitmore was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead June 20 at 2 a.m., said Ed Winter, a coroner’s spokesman.

An autopsy concluded that Whitmore died of blunt head trauma. Detectives are reviewing surveillance to try to identify the women.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Nicole Santa Cruz

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Three reader comments

Well 14 months have past since John was brutally murdered by those two young women at the Willowbrook station. Yet still early mornings when I step out on to the porch to enjoy my first cup of coffee I feel the pain of the loss when I glance over expecting to see him working in the yard. The trial is almost over and it has been devastating to my wife who has not missed a day in the last 14 months. I can't bring myself to be at the trial and look at those women who took Johns life. They laugh and giggle at the details of the crime. My last memory of my brother-in-law......My friend was as he was gasping and fighting for air as the life slipped from his body.
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John was a piller of the community. Numerous commendations from both the city and the county of Los Angeles. He helped pay tuitions for the financially disadvantaged so that they could attend California Institute of the Arts. The loss our family and community suffered as a result is staggering

— Corey Aldridge Aug. 27, 2015 at 4:20 a.m.

John was my brother-in-law he left behind a sister Gwendolyn, two brothers, Alvin and Tommy, as well as a nephew Benjamin who he helped raise. John livtwd a simple and quiet life. He received his MFA in 1973 and taught in Studio Watts. He received commendations from both the city and county of Los Angeles for outstanding citizenship and community involvement. He had worked for the Department of the Navy as an illustrator and Graphic Designer. He Contributed to Otis Scholarship fund which helps young promising artists to attend CalArts and receive a formal education in Fine Arts that gthey could not otherwise gotten.. John did not deserve this. We now have a void a hole in our lives. He was loved dearly and we miss him terribly.

— Corey Aldridge Aug. 25, 2014 at 7:20 p.m.