Friends, Family Mourn Death of Canoga Park Man

Documentary filmmaker Michael Craven spent the last months of his life videotaping his teenage son’s track meets in anticipation of a family reunion at the boy’s graduation, his friends and family said.

But instead of happy moments and celebration, loved ones of the 44-year-old Canoga Park man will get together in a gathering of sadness and solemnity, remembering a man who was cut short before his time.

“He had so much to contribute and now won’t,” said his friend Scott Ross. “It’s beyond horrible.”

Craven was traveling on the Hollywood Freeway near Barham Boulevard late Saturday when he was confronted by youths in a black Chevrolet Suburban who threw eggs at his Jeep, Los Angeles police said.

In a move that would ultimately cost him his life, Craven cut in front of the sport utility vehicle, causing it to stop, police said. He then got out and started walking toward it before he was run down as the driver sped away, authorities said.

He was pronounced dead early Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood.

LAPD Police Det. Vince Bancroft said at a press conference Monday that there were no leads in the homicide, but added that authorities were scouring dealerships across Los Angeles to hunt down whoever may have purchased a new SUV matching the description from witnesses.

Police believe that there were at least two people in the Suburban, including the driver.

“We are trying to find somebody who may have encountered the youth throwing eggs at others to get a better description of the car or them,” Bancroft said.

Craven’s son, Jesse Baraich, also attended the news briefing along with several friends, who remembered Craven as an avid coin collector and all-around nice guy.

Baraich said he would dedicate his last track meet to his slain father, saying he would look for inspiration in the skies, instead of at his father’s regular spot in the stands.

“I want to put the pieces together,” he said of the crime. “Maybe it wasn’t malicious, but we want to hear their side of the story.”

Baraich is set to graduate June 15 from San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara. Friends and family said that for the past five years, Craven had been working on a documentary tracing the history of U. S. coinage and had begun to edit the project, which he hoped to release and distribute.

Craven’s son said his father had worked on documentaries on Garth Brooks and edited for the television shows “Real TV” and “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol.”

Craven also provided content for the PBS series “The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, an Empire’s Special,” said Malcolm McDonald, a spokesman for KCET-TV in Los Angeles.

Craven worked out of the Canoga Park apartment where he had recently moved from Burbank, according to former neighbors.

“He always talked about how important it was for him to see his son graduate,” said Craven’s friend Carl Bernard. “It’s a sad moment.”