Latasha Harlins

Latasha Harlins is documented in the ColdCaseIndex database as a homicide case in Los Angeles, California. The events are dated to March 16, 1991. The victim is recorded as 15 years old and female. The last known information on record places the case at March 16, 1991, Empire Liquor Market, Los Angeles, CA.

Within the ColdCaseIndex taxonomy, Latasha Harlins is filed under Homicide with a status of Conviction. A homicide entry documents a killing in which the perpetrator has not been identified, has not been convicted, or where the case is otherwise historically notable. The record is cross-referenced under the themes homicide, Los Angeles, California, racial tension, LA Riots, controversial sentence, which connect it to related cases across the database.

The Latasha Harlins case ended in a criminal conviction. It is retained in this index as a historically significant case — one whose investigation, prosecution, or aftermath shaped forensic practice, criminal law, or the public understanding of violent crime.

Primary jurisdiction for the Latasha Harlins case rests with local law enforcement in Los Angeles, supported by California state investigative authorities. The case sits within a wider national picture: the U.S. homicide clearance rate has fallen from roughly 90% in the 1960s to about 54% today, and more than 346,000 homicides recorded since 1965 remain unsolved. ColdCaseIndex documents individual cases like this one to keep them publicly visible and searchable.