In a bid to crack the silence surrounding unsolved murders in Los Angeles County, the group Justice for Murdered Children has launched a new billboard campaign, prominently featuring the faces of four victims and posing the haunting question: "Do You Know Who Murdered Me?" Set against the backdrop of 104th Street and Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles, the billboard initiative was spotlighted during an event on Friday, as reported by NBC Los Angeles.
Justice for Murdered Children founder LaWanda Hawkins, who has tragically endured the murder of her son, underscored the campaign's mission to rupture a pervasive yet detrimental street code that often intimidates potential witnesses. "We're saying stand up and tell if you know something," Hawkins told NBC Los Angeles. "How do we break the code of silence when we have a community that's saying 'Don't say anything?' We say it's OK, and we'll support you when you say something."
Among the victims honorably remembered on the billboards are Ezmeralda McGee, 22, Kishaundra Gatlin, 43, Edgar Vazquez, 20, and Reginald Thompson, Sr., 34. Their cases, like many others, remain cold, prompting the push to engage the public in sharing information that could lead to a breakthrough. As law enforcement officials and families united beside the billboard, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Chief Joe Mendoza acknowledged the somber reality that these victims represent "hundreds of victims who have been murdered in Los Angeles County," according to a CBS News Los Angeles report.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman echoed a poignant sentiment, articulating the duality of Justice for Murdered Children's existence as both a haven for grieving families and a stark reminder of the relentlessness of violence. "This is not an organization you ever want to be part of, Justice for Murdered Children. Yet it is an organization that has to exist … to ensure that parents, sons, daughters, siblings, relatives of murdered children have a voice, have a support network in our system," Hochman emphatically stated at the event as mentioned in a CBS News Los Angeles coverage. Residents are encouraged by Justice for Murdered Children and law enforcement to report any tips, which can be done anonymously through Los Angeles Crime Stoppers at 1(800) 222-8477.
