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Murder in Leimert

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The majestic, Spanish-style homes that make up the neighborhood known as Leimert Park stand out for their manicured lawns and over all upkeep, a key factor in attracting home buyers priced out of West Los Angeles and other affluent areas. The tranquility of this peaceful community was shattered this week however, as a triple murder transpired in one of its stately abodes.

The deceased, an elderly couple and their son, were discovered Tuesday evening at about 8:20 p.m. by their grandson in the 3900 block of South Bronson Avenue. The victims, identified as William Carter, 82, his 77-year-old wife, Orsie, who live in nearby Baldwin Hills, and their son Peter White, 62, were found crammed into a bathroom of the single-family home.

Another occupant of the residence has been areested in connection with the case. She is one Nancy Amelia Jackson, in her 50s, who was initially misidentified as a caretaker for the deceased. Jackson is being held without bail. Earl Richardson, who lives across the street, identified her as a tenant on the property who’d met White in a bowling alley or skating ring some 10 years ago. Recently, White allowed Jackson into his home as she was experiencing financial difficulties. Jackson, who reportedly owned a home in Las Vegas, allegedly served as a housekeeper and possibly a girlfriend to White, and may suffer from mental issues. She was said to be driving an older model white SUV, perhaps a Ford Bronco or GMC, with license plates 4BGN193.

White, the owner of the home, was a retired Los Angeles County Probation Officer and former track star at Crenshaw High in the 1970s. Specializing in the 200-meter dash, he was among the top five finalists in that event, statewide. As he eased into middle age, he would reminisce about these youthful triumphs while patronizing the landmark Tak’s Coffee Shop on Crenshaw Boulevard.

Longtime friend Ralph Tilley remembers him as a kind and quite soul, eager to help anyone in need. Associates and colleagues within the law enforcement community where he worked agree with this assessment, a quality which prompted him to let someone live in his house rent-free to help her get on her feet.

Maternal first cousin, Reggie Dunn, who grew up alongside White, affirmed this, citing him as an individual who would give you the proverbial “shirt of his back,” whose generosity was almost a flaw.

“I used to get mad at him,” Dunn remembered of their lifelong relationship, during which he was known as a “soft touch” who could and would give more then a neighborhood freeloader would ask for.

“Man, why did you give him all that?!” Dunn would snap at his spendthrift relative.

In later years, White suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, and reportedly had been trying to evict Jackson for some time. People in the community reported loud arguments coming from the house in recent months.

The Los Angeles Police Department has revealed the victims all suffered blunt force trauma. White and his mother sustained gunshot wounds as well. “It’s just a sad way to spend your last days or your last breath, said Capt. Peter Whittingham, commenting on the tragedy.

Relatives and people close to the family speculate White’s parents may have come to help their son in evicting Jackson from the house, which in turn led to the final misfortune. “His father and his mother came to try to help him…get the lady out of the house,” said White’s niece, Nashun Carter.

“…I guess it went bad from there,” she suggested, shedding tears as she watched authorities work around the crime scene.

William and Orsie Carter are said to have been retired, as a truck driver for the Von’s Supermarket chain, and the federal government, respectively.

The grandson, who reportedly uncovered the crime, had been notified by neighbors, who’d noticed that Orsie Carter’s late model Mercedes-Benz had been parked near the house for a prolonged period of time. When he came to check on his family, he uncovered the grisly scene.

Yet and still, Leimert Park remains a comparatively safe bastion within the inner city, albeit susceptible to the violence that has been a staple of urban living anywhere in the continental United States for three quarters of a century. It is worth noting that perhaps the most infamous murder in the history of the city of angels, the Black Dahlia killing, occurred a block (3825 South Norton Avenue) from the slaughter that transpired this week. The following are but the most recent incidents of manslaughter within these environs:

Forty-five-year-old Andre Potts was found by LAPD officers at the intersection of 43rd Street and Leimert Blvd. on Jan. 6 of this year, felt by a gun shot wound. He was transported to the hospital where he succumbed. His killer is still at large.

At 6 a.m. on Sept. 12, 2017, Philip Osby, 59, was shot and killed in an alley of the 2600 block of West Vernon Avenue. His stolen black 2016 Hyundai was recovered two months later. The LAPD has an eight second video of two Black male suspects, although the murder has not been resolved.

Romero Banks and an acquaintance were engaged in a bout of street drinking on the evening of May 4, 2017 at the corner of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King boulevards, which escalated into a fist fight. During the course of the altercation, Bank’s opponent produced a knife and stabbed him. Banks died from this wound the following day. His assailant, a Black man in his 30s, is still at large.

Just as this article went to the printer, Nancy Jackson had been apprehended was being questioned about the deaths of Peter White and William and Orsie Carter.

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