West Adams

Play it for me.

Ben and I left Thad Brown's office, picked up Lieutenant Lee Jones at the crime lab, and drove to the West Adams District, number 16 Imperial Place, where the body of Laura Barkley had been found.

It was an ornate frame structure done in Victorian style, at least 30 to 40 years old.

Number 16 was on the ground floor.

But that's what Asselli says.

Jose Antonio Banuelos Diaz, 42, a Mexican national and West Adams resident, appeared in court wearing a reflective vest with the name of a landscaping company, blue jeans and boots with the American flag on them.

He'd been on his way to work when he was arrested.

During the hearings, the defendants only spoke to acknowledge that they reviewed and understood the charges against them.

And then-

Speaking of which, if you guys don't have any Halloween plans and you're in the LA area, come to West Adams.

I think you've already said this.

Did I really?

It was a commercial break that you made, and you were like-

[laughs]

... "Look no further than West Adams for your Halloween."

That's right.

did it in 2023 and 2024.

Or the ones that were in West Adams, and then they did one here.

They started at Griffith Park, and they did a loop down.

It was like a 14-mile box rectangle that that

He got it laid out.

He looks awesome.

No, but I did that walk for the West Adams one was really cool because they also give you like a map and tell you like landmarks.

And I don't know these areas at all.

I guess...

Or I'm walking alone, taking in the sounds of the West Adams University Park neighborhood.

It's during this time that my mind is more quiet, less focused on the never-ending tasks at hand.

But even when I'm on my own, I don't feel truly by myself.

Muchos negocios ya son nuevos, pero están como la tienda de Guatemalteca, esa está allá bastante tiempo.

My mom points out that while there are a lot of new businesses, there are still some holdouts, like this one, and an old Guatemalan store that's also survived.

We keep walking towards her old apartment, properly entering her old neighborhood just off Vermont and 29th in the West Adams neighborhood.

We pass by an old house where she says men used to watch boxing matches in the yard back in the day when Julio César Chávez was the champion, and there were barbecues with loud music playing.

... where's this venue at?

Uh, this venue is, it's on West, West Adams.

Like West Adams and, like, uh, La Brea.

That's where this venue is.

Mm.

Well, here

in West Adams, home to Hattie.

Hattie McDaniel.

Yeah.