Homeless Man Set on Fire in Los Angeles

• i knew this guy. i grew up in that neighborhood since the age of 4 everyone was nice to him. he didnt bother anyone. he didnt have a home so heartless people see him as a target. everyday when i passed by him he would smile but look away. how could anyone do this. i recently found out because i moved away from that area but no gang would hurt him he didnt mess with anyone. he would never beg for food or money. i feel really bad i wasnt nicer to him

• I never knew his name but like so many people who posted their thoughts on this site. I miss him dearly. I live on Lafayette PK. PL a few blocks up 3rd street. I called him "My Guy" well I feel like he was "my guy". I would travel by car to get to all my destinations going west and east. Each trip I would look and see where "my guy" would be. Would he be leaning today or sitting against one of the buildings? Some days he would trick me and move on the other side of the street by the chicken place and sometimes he would shift a block down. I've lived on this side of town for at least 17 years. I remember when I first got out of my car to speak to him he acknowledged me and stood up. I thought this is a gentleman. I approached him with a few bucks in hand and asked if I could take his photo. It almost seemed like he enjoyed playing hide and seek with me while I took his picture. His eyes were bright even through the huge haze of dirt, surrounded his very essence he wore his royal grim like a coat of armor, maybe that was his protection so I thought or I would hope that to be the case. It seemed that I was the last one to put the puzzle together. But I did come to the realization that "my guy" had vanished. I continued to travel down 3rd and I would look for him but he was not to be found. I saw people standing in front of a make shift shrine but thought it must be something to do with gang killing which doesn't make it much better. Then as the weeks passed by I heard bits and pieces about a homeless man being set on fire but I still didn't put two and two together. And finally one day when I was driving listening to the radio there was someone speaking about the homeless guy who was set on fire at New Hampshire and 3rd. I cried out that's MY GUY. I DROVE DOWN TO New Hampshire to make sure that that was the street where I saw him most of the time. And yes it was. My heart sank. I just sat in my car and stared down 3rd. How? Why? For what reason would anyone think that ones life is that cheap that they have the right to take away another's privilege to live. I'm so sorry that I missed his gathering at the church it certainly would have brought some closure to this mad act of inanity. This man was very special and even though I never knew him. He touched me with his heart. Life is eternal! John followed his karma to the fullest and will return as another gift to humankind. I'm certain of that. I have photos of my guy something to remember him by. I will miss seeing you as I amble down 3rd street. Some how knowing that you were there on 3rd made life balanced, complete and you always put a smile on my face. What joy you brought to so many just the way you were. I never felt sorry for you. You had too much dignity to allow any one to feel sorry for you. I will miss you John. THANK YOU FOR BEING.

• I went to the voting polls this morning. While standing in line somehow the subject came up about the homeless man who was set on fire in Los Angeles. I had heard about it on the news but had no idea it was JOHN! I have lived 16 years in a condo on the same block that John would sleep and spend part of his day. For 10 years when I went jogging early in the morning I made sure I had a $5 bill in my running shorts and I would always stop, exchange a few words and give him "breakfast" money. He was totally harmless and was an icon in the neighborhood. He clearly was lost in this world but behind the dirty clothes and grimey face you knew this man had a history of being a man of substance. I have come home from the election polls but I feel devastated. His funeral was at a church two blocks from my house and I didn't know about it. I would have done anything to have attended his service. I'm a grown man but can hardly keep from crying right now. I will remember this day for the historic presidential election results as well as it being the day I lost John. You were a good man John.

• I would see John often as I walked down the street on my way to work or to the store. When ever I saw him I felt I was in the presence of my dear, kind, gentle brother. I did not know anything about your life, but I wondered if you were a man who had carried sadness in your heart. John would sometimes ask if I could spare a quarter. I would give him a a couple of dollars wishing I could have given him more. He sometimes would ask me, Are you ok? This puzzled me, but it made me think...am I ok? I would answer yes, and then I would ask him the same question in return; he would always reply, Yeah,I am ok. Well, though he may have told me he was ok, I wonder if he was, maybe just like me, I say I am ok when I am not. Oh John I wish I could have spoken with you longer then just those few minutes. I feel something in my heart for you. I felt your sadness, I think you carried alot of sadness in your heart, I say that because I felt something whenever I saw you as if your heart was touching the sadness in my own heart. I AM SO SAD. I FEEL LIKE MY OWN FAMILY MEMBER HAS DIED. I AM SO FURRIATED WITH THE EVIL DEVILS WHO DID THIS TO YOU! Oh John, gentle quiet John....YOUR LIFE WAS NOT LIVED IN VAIN NOR WAS YOUR DEATH.JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED. THE ANIMALS WHO DID THIS TO YOU WILL BE PUNISHED, MARK MY WORDS. John I will never forget you nor the feeling that would stir within my soul when ever my eyes were staring into your eternal blueness. God rest your gentle kind soul. I love you. Love, ~Adriane

• I live in this area. And I have seen this man every morning on the way to work and every evening returning home on third street in los angeles. HE APPEARED QUIET AND STAYED TO HIMSELF...rarely begged for money.This event is very sad and hits very close to home. He stayed within a few blocks of los angeles, but this story is touching people outside of vermont and third street area. We truly all can learn from this senseless act. And to those who commited this crime, you will be found.

• Kill all those gangters! Kill the MFers and take back our city! Let's declare war on them and kill them all. Do it for John! As for the worthless MFers who did this. Mark my words, you will be destroyed in a savage and heinous way! We will find you, and we will kill you. 3 million people have pronounced a death sentence on you. Die MFer! And burn in hell...

• This is a sequel to my previous comment about John's horrific death. At first I doubted he was the same John I met in 2002. I was saddened when pictures and circumstances surrounding his life confirmed that he was the same John, indeed. John Robert McGraham is now laid to rest. A memorial was held at the Westminster Chapel of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church at 3300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90005, a few blocks away from the Ambassador Hotel where John worked as a bellman. His sister commented that he was a star bellman in that hotel, before it went out of business. John's brother and sisters were amazed at the outpour of mourners, whose lives were touched by John's humble existence; the chapel was jampacked with about 300 people, most of them (me included) stayed from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. We shared stories and poems about the "homeless man" who was blessed with a good heart and a dry sense of humor. Yes, homeless people could be funny, too; and most importantly, THEY ARE HUMANS just like normal people. When I first met John, I saw in him an interesting story to tell. I wasn't wrong in my vision. John is and was an interesting story with a "beginning, a middle and an end." The irony of the "cruel end for a man who asked for little," has shaken even the top authorities of the City of Angels. John's horrific death in the hands of young people who did not and do not care for the value of human's God-given life, is an eye opener for all of us who, at some point, "made his day." John's family and friends need time to heal the pain of his loss. Young men, God witnessed your crime. He knows you and every bit of hair on your head, let alone, your DNAs. You may remain at large for as long as you are cowardly hiding; but the punishment of hell will be more than what the courts would convict. My heart cries for you because you just wasted your precious youth. For John, it was victory, because his sufferings have come to its end.

• I remember seeing John on and off for several years, he was truly a fixture in the neighborhood. When this incident took place a colleague of mine was having dinner across the street at a mexican restaurant and called me to tell me what happened. Apparently, he saw as many as 30 police cars rush to the scene in addition to the fire dept/ambulance dispatch. By the time they arrived John was burned alive, his flesh incinerated and the life of this poor soul evaporated within the blink of the eye. When I learned that this tragedy was a result of a 'gang initiation" by some impressionable reckless teens I was outraged. The crime was not your typical crime because there was no motive, no monetary gain, no priced possession but only an exhibit of the most heinous, possibly the cruelest predatory act that anyone could imagine. Being homeless in America, the richest nation on earth is a travesty in itself. The fact that we don't fund needed programs like we should shows how millions of poor and helpless souls are left to wander our streets to survive. The killers that killed John in cold blood will be found. Those that forced his cruel existence in to the darkest chapter of his life will be remembered. Karma will come back to you in this life and God will have no mercy on your soul in the next.

• Just recently, my godmother has told me that my old neighborhood is getting worse, that gangs are trying to overule the streets again, and if this was a stunt to get in to something, you're not get out of this mess. And I hope God will forgive you for taking someone's a harmless soul; you just don't take a life away. Try to imagine someone that you would see everyday, and that person is suddenly gone, because someone else thought their life wasn't as valuable as his/hers. The first time we saw each other was when i was in 2nd grade and you were by the California Donut Shop, i looked up and i saw a tall man, wearing a big black coat and my babysitter was taking me to Commonwealth Ave. School. From then on i saw you everyday. I lived in NewHampshire and 4th for 9 years and when i moved to valley i didn't see him that often, but when i did i would just smile when i passed him through the car, smoking your ciggarate and listening to your little radio. I won't forget those days that I use to walk behind you, or give you food. All I can say is that we love you John, and it is true, losing you is like someone from our family. It wasn't the police that made our neighborhood safe, it was you... it was you. I know that you're in better place, where you're not judged for being anything. You will always have a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, we'll miss you John.

• Just recently, my godmother has told me that my old neighborhood is getting worse, that gangs are trying to overule the streets again, and if this was a stunt to get in to something, you're not get out of this mess. And I hope God will forgive you for taking someone's a harmless soul; you just don't take a life away. Try to imagine someone that you would see everyday, and that person is suddenly gone, because someone else thought their life wasn't as valuable as his/hers. The first time we saw each other was when i was in 2nd grade and you were by the California Donut Shop, i looked up and i saw a tall man, wearing a big black coat and my babysitter was taking me to Commonwealth Ave. School. From then on i saw you everyday. I lived in NewHampshire and 4th for 9 years and when i moved to valley i didn't see him that often, but when i did i would just smile when i passed him through the car, smoking your ciggarate and listening to your little radio. I won't forget those days that I use to walk behind you, or give you food. All I can say is that we love you John, and it is true, losing you is like someone from our family. It wasn't the police that made our neighborhood safe, it was you... it was you. I know that you're in better place, where you're not judged for being anything. You will always have a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, we'll miss you John.

• (I WOULD SEE THIS MAN)i live around there where he lived, i would always see him everday passing by, ever since i was in sixth grade coming from school from (virgil middle school)i would see him, he wouldnt bother people for money,he wouldnt bother people for food,he would always be sitting eating,smoking, but he didnt bother me,and now that im in 10th grade, i just saw his face clean for the first time in my life on wendsay,(the day before his death) I didnt pass by him on thursday cause i didnt went to school, I WAS SHOCKED WHEN MY MOM TOLD ME ABOUT DEATH OF THIS MAN,MY HEART WAS BROKEN, I COULDNT THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE,HOW COULD SOMEONE DO THIS TO THIS POORMAN, I SWEAR WHO EVER DIED THIS TO HIM SHOULD BE PUNISHED, HE MUST SUFFER FOR THE DEATH OF THIS POOR MAN,AND IF HE WAS SENT OR WAS PART OF A DAM GANG THEY SHOULD ALSO SUFFER, JOHN I WILL MISS YOU EVEN IF WE DIDNT TALK TO EACH OTHER,YOU WERE PART OF MY HEART MAN,ITS LIKE LOSING SOMEONE FROM MY FAMILY REST IN PEACE JOHN HOPE YOUR IN A BETTER PLACE

• This just breaks my heart. As you say, "what is wrong with people?" By all accounts this man was completely harmless, a bother to no one. His murder has been haunting me for days. It takes a true monster to burn a human being alive. If the world were a fair place, they would get what they so blithely dished out. My friends would scold me if they knew I'd said so violent a thing, but I feel it right down to the marrow in my bones. Their victim didn't die immediately. He <u>suffered</u>. They don't have the right to die with any form of dignity, not after this.

• This just breaks my heart. As you say, "what is wrong with people?" By all accounts this man was completely harmless, a bother to no one. His murder has been haunting me for days. It takes a true monster to burn a human being alive. I hope when these are caught that they get life sentences.

• What a horrific crime done to a helpless, homeless man. I am devastated, although I'm not sure if this was the same homeless John I met in downtown LA, the smelly yet intelligent guy who helped me write my paper for my class in film and television broadcasting. I heard from some coworkers in a Los Angeles court that he was an attorney-turned-homeless. Whether or not he was the same person, may proper punishment be served to the criminal and his cohorts.

• To the persons who did this: I hope your guilt destroys you and when you get caught, that your lives are ended just as painfully. You had no right to do this to a poor defenseless soul. I live in the neighborhood and I'm never going to forget. I'm devoted to seeing justice served.

• It is ridiculous how we can ignore something as horrible as this. We should have a special website created for each crime until it is solved. I am going to see what i can do with www.lacrimeprevention.com to help curb these types of crimes.

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