Willie Thomas Jr., a 55-year-old black man, died Thursday, Jan. 9, after he suffered blunt force trauma in the 100 block of East 82nd Street in Florence, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
About 10:29 p.m., officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call of an assault in the area, and arrived to find Thomas with a head injury in the living room of a home, said LAPD Det. Dave Garrido.
Moments before, Thomas was sitting on a couch in the living room when he was hit on the head with a baseball bat by another person who lived in the house, Garrido said. The attack was unprovoked.
Thomas was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:06 p.m., according to coroner’s records.
Police said they’ve identified the assailant, who remains outstanding.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (323) 786-5113. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.