Na Li, 37

Na Li, a 37-year-old Asian woman, was stabbed to death Monday, July 4, in the 16400 block of Lakewood Boulevard in Bellflower, according to Los Angeles County coroner records. 

Li was stabbed in the chest about 12:23 p.m. by a man with bushy hair in the hallway outside her room at the Bellflower Travel Inn, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide Det. Phil Martinez.

The stabbing was recorded by surveillance cameras, but the quality was so poor that investigators can’t make out many details about the attacker, said Martinez. 

The assailant fled down a stairwell into the parking lot. The video showed Li walking briefly back into her room, and then she followed her attacker outside, collapsing on the stairs, Martinez said.

She was taken to the hospital but pronounced dead during emergency surgery at 8:53 p.m., according to coroner’s records. 

Li was identified by the FBI through fingerprints and appears to be a Chinese national, said coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter. She didn’t have a driver’s license or a passport, Martinez said, and investigators have been unable to find her family.

A woman who claimed to be a family member went to the hospital and left Li’s name along with an address and phone number, Martinez said, but the woman left without asking questions about Li’s condition or trying to see her. Neither the address nor the phone number provided information about her family, he said.

Investigators don’t know why she was in Bellflower, and they are wondering if they even have her correct name, Martinez said. All they really know is that she checked into the motel on July 1 and paid to stay for a week. 

“She had minimal luggage — a few personal items, soap and washcloths in a plastic bag,” he said. “She was described as attractive and petite but very quiet and very private. She stayed in her room and never spoke to anyone.”

As far as investigators know, she spoke only Chinese, Martinez said. When she fell down the stairs after she was stabbed, she tried to speak to the people around her and appeared to be asking for help, but no one understood what she was trying to say.

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

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.