Elderly Philanthropist, Wife Killed in Home

Albert Patton, a revered South Los Angeles community philanthropist, and his wife of 63 years were stabbed to death during an apparent home robbery Saturday night, Los Angeles police said.

The 90-year-old Patton, a friend and financial supporter of such politicians as the late Mayor Tom Bradley and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, was found in his kitchen by a friend, said LAPD Cmdr. David J. Kalish.

His wife, Edna, 85, who was in a wheelchair, was found in the couple’s bedroom with multiple stab wounds, Kalish said. She was in a lower body cast, recovering from hip surgery, family members said.

“I found her slumped over in her wheelchair,” said Andy Davis, a friend who had been taking care of the Pattons for about four months. “I called out to Mr. Patton and didn’t get an answer. Then I walked out to the kitchen and saw him lying in a pool of blood. That’s when my wife and I called 911.”

Police are looking for suspects and were unable to say Sunday whether the robbers knew the Pattons. There were no signs of forced entry at the three-story South La Brea Avenue home that anchors an apartment complex owned by the couple. Police would not say what was taken from the home, which was filled with sports memorabilia.

Los Angeles Councilman Nate Holden offered a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

“Only a devil could do that,” said Holden, a longtime friend of the Pattons. “We’re gonna get [the killer]. This guy is gonna burn.”

Neighbors and friends suspect the robbers knew the Pattons. Practically everybody in the West Adams portion of the city did, they said. Albert, who played a role in the development of Harlem Globetrotters in the 1920s, co-founded the national 100 Black Men organization for disadvantaged youth. He was admired by many as an eccentric rich uncle, quick to pass out money and stories to strangers, friends said.

Occasionally while cruising the neighborhood in his silver Rolls-Royce, Patton would tell anyone within earshot of how he scouted such basketball icons as Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal for the Globetrotters, Davis said.

During the 1940s when black athletes were not allowed to play in all leagues, Patton arranged several matches between the Globetrotters and professional basketball players.

In 1961, Patton built the three-story apartment complex on South La Brea where he and Edna had lived ever since.

It was also a second home for black athletes such as Wilt Chamberlain and Joe Louis, who at the time had difficulty finding a decent place to stay in Los Angeles because of housing discrimination, family members said.

Bradley also lived in the building when he was an LAPD officer, said Marlyn Foster, a niece of the Pattons.

Later, after the Pattons began renting to others in the community, athletes and political friends often stopped by, neighbors said.

“You knew that if Mayor Tom Bradley was stopping in for a visit, this guy must be important,” said Davis.

During his later years, Patton contributed to local senior centers and helped coordinate scholarship fund-raisers for the 100 Black Men and Young Black Scholars, another organization he helped launch.

Given Patton’s contributions to the community, his family pleaded on Sunday that the community now help solve the slayings.

“Please help us with any information you can,” said Kim Foster, a great-niece, in tears.

Edna Patton “didn’t even have the strength to get up and holler for help,” she said.

“My uncle was too old and weak to run for help. I don’t understand how anyone could have brutally and savagely murdered an elderly couple like that.”

Anybody with information is asked to call LAPD detectives at (213) 485-2504.