HEARTBREAKING –
May 27, 2025 – The daughters of a U.S. Army veteran whose body was found in a homeless encampment are raising concerns about the LA Police Department’s handling of their mother’s case. Lucrecia Macias Barajas, 46, was found dead May 12 by one of her three daughters after she traced her mother’s cellphone to a large, tarp-covered shelter … Video taken by a resident showed the daughter wailing on the ground after making the tragic discovery and later begging officers to remove her mother’s body.
The LAPD has characterized the death as a suspected drug overdose, and told The Times at the time of the incident that it was not investigating the matter as a homicide.
But the daughters of the dead woman say the LAPD was too quick to rule out foul play.
Among other suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, the daughters say, is that the entrance to the shelter structure was secured from the outside with a lock. Also, they said a person who was in the area hours before the body was found said they heard a woman screaming for help.
Hans Salinas, 25, told The Times that he and his girlfriend had fallen asleep in his car in a parking lot not far from the shelter when the sound of a man and woman arguing woke him up around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.