Former NFL Player Kevin Johnson Killed in LA Encampment Homicide

The body of Kevin Johnson, a 55-year-old former NFL defensive lineman and Los Angeles native, was discovered on January 21, 2026, at a homeless encampment in the 1300 block of East 120th Street along the Los Angeles River near Willowbrook. Authorities ruled his death a homicide, caused by stab wounds and blunt head trauma, and are investigating whether it connects to three other killings of unhoused individuals in the same area over the preceding months.

Johnson, who had been living at the encampment, was beaten and stabbed, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) Homicide Bureau is probing the possibility of a link among the four deaths, all involving unhoused people in encampments near Compton Creek. Investigators from the Homicide Bureau are collaborating with personnel from the Century Sheriff's Station and the Operation Safe Streets Bureau to pursue leads.

The series began on October 5, 2025, when 52-year-old Michelle Steele was shot in the head in the area. She succumbed to her injuries in a hospital on November 12, 2025. The second victim, 52-year-old Octavio Arias, died on December 4, 2025, from head...