A $10,000 reward was announced Tuesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two women who fatally beat a man at a Willowbrook Metro station last month.
John Wayne Whitmore, 65, was standing on the Blue Line platform waiting for a train when two women approached him, engaged in a verbal argument then severely beat him on June 13, a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department news release stated.
Whitmore sustained blunt-force trauma to his head and died at St. Francis Hospital on June 20.
The incident occurred at the 103rd Street / Watts Towers station (map) in view of dozens of passengers who did nothing to halt the assailants’ escape.
The two attackers “immediately” began beating Whitmore severely, then blended into a crowd of disembarking passengers and disappearing, sheriff’s Lt. Dave Coleman said.
Surveillance video and photos of the two women were released at a news conference Tuesday.
“I beg anyone that saw it … don’t be afraid, come forward. Because it can happen to anybody,” said the victim’s sister, Gwendolyn Whitmore-Aldridge said at the event.
Whitmore was survived by his sister, two brothers and 13 nieces and nephews.
“He was a talented artist who was merely running his errands,” a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department news release stated.
A $10,000 reward was approved by the Board of Supervisors for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Whitmore’s death.
Anyone with information was asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
Anonymous tipsters may call “Crime Stoppers” at 800-222-8477, or text the letters TIPLA plus the tip to 274637, or use the website lacrimestoppers.org.
