For the family of Damon Bluthenthal, a year and a half has passed without an answer — and his mother is not giving up.
What happened
Damon Eugene Bluthenthal, 50, of San Pedro, was reported missing by his family on Dec. 24, 2024, ABC7 reported. Five days later, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies found him unresponsive in a parking lot on South Acacia Avenue in Compton, near a Metro A Line station, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The county medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, and investigators believe he was killed elsewhere and his body brought to the lot, according to the Sheriff's Department. More than 18 months later, no arrest has been made.
A mother's words
Damon's mother, Jaqueline Bluthenthal, has chosen to speak publicly in the hope that someone will come forward. "My son was my baby boy, my only child," she said. "No mother should endure the agony" of burying her child. Her appeal, delivered as the Sheriff's Department renewed its request for tips late last month, is also a practical one: she is asking anyone who knows anything to call.
The reward, and how to help
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and the case remains an active homicide investigation. Anyone with information can contact the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those who wish to stay anonymous can call L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip online; anonymous tipsters may still qualify for the reward. Investigators say even small details have broken cases that once looked cold — and for families like the Bluthenthals, an unsolved killing is a wound that cannot begin to close until someone comes forward.
