Homicide Report > Christopher O'Leary, 34
Christopher O'Leary, 34
Died Jan. 20, 2008 at 9:35 p.m.
Christopher O'Leary, 34, a white man, was fatally shot near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Avenue 46 in Highland Park on Sunday, Jan. 20. O'Leary was on his way to the store when a man or youth approached him and shot him. A passerby discovered the body and reported it to police. The motive is still unclear, said homicide Det. Lewis Lenchuk of LAPD's Northeast Division. O'Leary was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where he was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m.
O'Leary was an employee at the Department of Public Health in the Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention Program. Having a doctorate in medical anthropology, O'Leary assisted in launching two STD prevention campaigns, according to colleague Harlan Ortabalatt. The first, "Check Yourself," was aimed at preventing the spread of syphilis among gay men. The second, "I Know," attempted to prevent the spread of chlamydia and gonorrhea among women of color. He was scheduled to give a presentation about the campaigns at the National STD Prevention Conference in Chicago and the International AIDS Prevention Conference in Mexico City later this year.
Those who knew and worked with O'Leary described him as an astute and vibrant person. "He would make you come alive," Ortabalatt said. "It would heighten your level about life." Unanimously, friends and colleagues have taken comfort in the idea that O'Leary was his usual self that Sunday; he was happy and enjoying life. Read O'Leary's obituary in the Sacramento Bee for more details.
* Update: LAPD Northeast Division detectives have cleared this case: A 17-year-old Latino youth has been arrested. Times story.
- Neighborhood: Highland Park
- Age: 34
- Gender: Male
- Cause: Gunshot
- Day of the week: Sunday
- Agency: LAPD Northeast
- Race/Ethnicity: White
Four reader comments about Christopher O'Leary
Los Angeles times, i seen descriptions of dead hispanic gang members, two line desciption. This guy gets a whole book. Sorry, the violence is LA mostly targets hispanics then blacks. Please stop being so bias.
May 20, 2010 at 6:35 p.m.
— Big R-, this murder was unusual enough, that it had its own interesting story.
Most of the other homicides in this blog are "usual" and nothing of interest to them.
Its a shame that murder is no longer a story in most circumstances.
May 20, 2010 at 10:24 p.m.
Big R,
As soon as a Mexican going to school earning a doctorate in medical anthropology, gets killed by some punk I'm sure the paper will cover it. Until then I guess we and I say we because I am hispanic will have to settle for the few lines about some gang bangers who were stopped before they caused more harm.
May 20, 2010 at 10:48 p.m.
A lot of gang bangers aren't so chatty when it comes to talk about their activities and the people who associate with them aren't either, its pretty hard to get a whole story when for the most part all that is known is a shots fired call and then theres another body hitting the floor... this person obviously had someone who cared about him and lived in a community where people are proud to explain what they know... Also ive seen plenty of detailed analysis about black white asian etc explaining the death, it just depends on the case. Not EVERYTHING is racist
June 24, 2010 at 2:12 p.m.
Share a memory or thought about Christopher O'Leary