Homeless man lighted on fire identified as John Robert McGraham
McGraham, 55, had lived 20 years in the mid-Wilshire neighborhood where he was doused and torched. The slaying is under investigation.
The homeless man who died after being torched in a mid-Wilshire neighborhood Thursday was identified today by the county coroner's office as John Robert McGraham. He was 55 years old.
A vigil is planned for 5 p.m today near the corner of 3rd and Berendo streets, where the victim of the gruesome killing had sat, near an empty dental office. By this morning, neighbors in the multiethnic neighborhood had mounted an impromptu shrine with dozens of candles, handwritten letters and other remembrances.
A photo was taped above the sidewalk, depicting a rotund, shoeless Caucasian man with a beard and a dirty oversized jacket; a sign bore the words "RIP John." The victim had lived for two decades in the neighborhood and was known as a gentle, inoffensive person.
Police continued to investigate what LAPD Chief William Bratton called a "heinous" killing. One witness reported seeing several young men emerge from a Honda Civic and douse the victim with liquid from a red plastic container. Another reportedly saw a young man in his 20s with short brown hair and a large black T-shirt running from the scene after the attack, which occurred about 9:30 p.m.
margot.roosevelt@latimes.com
