The return of the Homicide Report
Originally started in 2007 as an effort to catalog every homicide in Los Angeles County over the course of the year, the Times’ homicide report continued for a while afterward, until it was turned into a database of all L.A. County killings in 2010.
But with reporter Nicole Santa Cruz at the helm, a new era for the Homicide Report begins today. As Cruz writes in her story announcing the report’s return, recollecting her time with Nancy Ekelund, whose daughter Lynsie was murdered.
It was not the first murder I’d covered, but something about Ekelund’s raw pain left me wondering often about the people left behind when a loved one is killed. Whether it’s the case of 20-year-old Lynsie, last seen alive in February of 2001, or that of 55-year-old Richard Vidaurry, shot once in the head and killed by an unknown assailant last month — their stories matter.
Keep track of all of the stories here, or follow the report on Twitter: @latimeshomicide
Growing protests attract tens of thousands across Brazil
For the fifth straight day, pent-up frustration has boiled over into protests over the Brazilian government’s skyrocketing expenditures in preparation for the upcoming World Cup and Summer Olympics, declining economic growth and a harsh response from police that has left hundreds injured.
In the city of Sao Paulo alone, an estimated 65,000 people clogged the streets for the “Free Fare Movement,” which has fought against a recent 10-cent hike in bus fares.
For some perspective on the issue of transportation costs in the country:
Two weeks ago, the Sao Paulo bus fare for a standard one-way trip increased to about $1.50. Workers on minimum wage who take two buses a day can end up spending more than 25% of their monthly income on transportation.
See more from the protests over at Framework., and read more about the demonstrator’s grievances at World Now.
Photos: Marcelo Say’o / EPA, Victor R. Caivano / Associated Press, Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images
“I’m a Brooklyn Assistant D.A. I work on domestic violence cases— many of them homicides. Some of the crime scenes are just gruesome. It’s the same stuff soldiers see in a war. I see this stuff, I smell this stuff, it’s hard to get out of your mind. And even when I win a case, it’s hard to feel like I’m making a difference. It’s a never-ending cycle of violence. The offenders are so likely to offend again. And the women are likely to go right back to them, or find themselves in a similar relationship. The work is so tough, and it feels like I’m not even making a dent.”
