On Oct. 5, 1967, Huntington Park Police Officer Robert Keller was fatally shot while responding to a burglary at a business on Pacific Boulevard.
For 57 years his murder has gone unsolved, and now the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors are hoping a renewed $20,000 reward will spur new developments in the decades-old cold case.
On Tuesday, the Board approved a motion to reestablish the reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Keller’s killing. The motion was authored by Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district encompasses Huntington Park.
“The murder of Officer Robert Keller continues to be painful for the Huntington Park community and his family,” Hahn said in a news release. “This many years later, we hold out hope that we can solve this case and provide some sense of closure to Officer Keller’s family. I urge anyone with any information about this murder to share what they know with our Sheriff’s detectives.”
Keller was a U.S. Navy veteran, a husband and a father to a newborn baby. He had been a member of the Huntington Park Police Department for only a year.
Little about the suspect in the case is known, but officials say Keller had responded for a silent alarm at Wonder Shop, a long-since-closed dress shop located at 6509 Pacific Blvd.
According to his memorial page on the Police Department website, Keller met with a security guard at the scene and the two entered the business to search for the suspect.
The suspect, who had entered the shop through a skylight, jumped out from a hiding place, leading to a gun battle between the suspect and Keller.
As many as 12 rounds were exchanged during the skirmish and Keller suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. He was able to make it out of the building and onto the sidewalk, but he collapsed and died at the scene. He was 25 years old.
The suspect fled the scene, leaving behind a trail of blood, indicating he may have been hit by one of Keller’s shots. Despite an “intense manhunt,” the suspect was never found.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Huntington Park police both investigated at the time, but it has remained unsolved for decades.
Currently, the LASD Unsolved Unit is looking into the case utilizing the latest scientific methods and technologies.
Officials hope that technological advances and new information acquired through the promise of this reward will lead to a breakthrough that finally closes the book on this unsolved crime.
“The City of Huntington Park thanks the office of Supervisor Hahn and the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department for the continued support to unravel this infamous crime,” Huntington Park Mayor Marilyn Sanabria said. “We are grateful for the proposed motion to bring additional resources to help solving this case.”
Anyone with information about the murder of Officer Robert Keller is urged to call LASD Homicide Bureau Lieutenant Joseph Purcell at 323-890-5565. Anonymous tips can be made online or by calling 1-800-222-8477.
