Eric Monkkonen, 62; UCLA Scholar Studied Murder in N.Y., L.A.

His New York study, which was based on a carefully constructed database of 1,781 cases, deflated a number of other conventional wisdoms. He found that factors such as crowding, corruption in the justice system and riots are not always preconditions for a homicide hike. He also concluded that cities are not necessarily more murderous than the country. In fact, he found that New York had a lower homicide rate than the nation as a whole during the first half of the 20th century, before 1958.

The latter may have been the most debated point in the book among historians. "This runs counter to much other evidence," Donald Fyson wrote in 2003 in the journal Urban History Review.

In spite of that view, the book won high praise.

"I can think of no book on homicide from which I've learned more," wrote Roger Lane, an emeritus professor at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and author of the 1997 book "Murder in America."

Lane, who along with Monkkonen is one of the two deans of homicide scholarship in the United States, called his friend's book "the biggest, longest, and most careful longitudinal study [of murder] ever, in the world's most important city."

For his latest research, Monkkonen recently won the cooperation of the Los Angeles Police Department, gaining access to rare volumes detailing every homicide in the city back to 1899. He told the Los Angeles Daily News last year that he had built a list of more than 6,600 murder cases between 1830 and 1960 and hoped to bring it up to the present day within two years.

Among his findings was that Los Angeles was more violent than New York at the turn of the 20th century, with 15 homicides per 100,000 people in Los Angeles compared to four per 100,000 in New York.

Despite the grim nature of the crime he studied for years, Monkkonen maintained a sense of optimism that was tempered by the historian's long view.

"The American heritage may take centuries to correct," he wrote. "This can cheer us, however, if we rein in our expectations for quick success and look at homicide as a history we can overcome."

Monkkonen is survived by his wife, Judy, and sons Pentti and Paavo.

A memorial service will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday in the California Room of the UCLA Faculty Center. Donations may be sent to the UCLA Foundation -- Monkkonen Fund, c/o Teofilo Ruiz, UCLA Department of History, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

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Times staff writer Jill Leovy contributed to this report.