$20,000 reward offered as Los Angeles County investigators seek information on 2024 murder

Los Angeles County investigators are still asking the public for help as they continue searching for the suspect who shot and killed a woman in Lynwood in late 2024. 

Irene Gonzalez, a 40-year-old mother of two, was shot and killed just before 2 a.m. on September 15, 2024, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies reminded the public during a news conference on Monday. 

On that day, deputies were dispatched to the 12500 block of Oak Street, where they arrived to find her lying on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Deputies say that she was shot by the male driver of a 2014-2018 Toyota Corolla with four doors and a sunroof. 

"Moments after stopping on Oak Street, Irene was shot in the back by the driver as she fled the vehicle," deputies said. "The suspect sped away, and her body was discovered hours later."

Investigators have revealed that the car was driving along Long Beach Boulevard before turning onto westbound Euclid Avenue. It continued on towards Oak Street, where it stopped in the middle of the block, they said. 

They still have not yet been able to determine the relationship between Gonzalez and the driver. 

"Irene did not deserve to die in the manner that she did," said an LASD official during a news conference on Monday, one year after the murder. "We are asking for the public's assistance and hope that someone will have the courage to come forward and help investigators identify the person responsible for this senseless and violent act."

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to re-establish a $20,000 reward that they had previously announced in December 2024. They're still hoping that the money might incentivize someone with information to come forward. 

"It has been one year since Irene lost her life in a vicious, close-range shooting, and her killer has still not been found," said a statement from County Supervisor Janice Hahn. "Irene and her loved ones deserve justice, and this violent criminal with no regard for human life belongs behind bars. We need the public's help here."

Anyone who knows more is urged to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.