Authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for information that helps identify people who deliberately set fire to a 50-year-old Crave Canan vehicle while they were intentionally sleeping.
Buchanan, known as Tio to Friends, lived in the Bruford SUV for about four months before being killed in the early hours of August 8, 2023. The murder remains unsolved.
Police said Buchanan was inside his car, parked as the vehicle rose behind him in the 400 block of East 102nd Street in South Los Angeles. Authorities say the suspect left the vehicle and threw an unknown accelerator at Buchanan and his SUV. The suspect lit Buchanan with fire before retreating into the vehicle and fleeing, police said.
It is unclear from a police statement whether Buchanan remains in the vehicle during the attack, whether the car doors were unlocked or the windows were rolled down. Police have not released the number of suspects involved.
Buchanan suffered three-degree burns and was pronounced several hours after being taken to hospital, police said.
Buchanan, avoided using a wheelchair, required a heart transplant after closing twice to Covid. Longtime friend Maria Carrera told the 2023 Times that Buchanan previously lived with Nie in Riverside County. Carrera said Buchanan bought his SUV while searching for a permanent home.
He celebrated his 50th birthday two weeks before the murder.
The city of Los Angeles provided a $50,000 reward for anyone with information that could lead to the identity of those responsible for Buchanan’s death and arrest.
“The goal is not only to resolve this murder, but to provide some degree of justice to Clay Buchanan’s family,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release Wednesday. “And sends a message that the community will not tolerate such meaningless acts of violence.”
Anyone with information can contact detective B. Smith or G. Stearns, from the murder division of LAPD, at (213) 486-6890 or (877) 527-3247. For non-business hours or weekend calls (877) 527-3247. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling www.lacrimestoppers.org or (800) 222-8477.
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