Eddie Lee

Sometime on the night of February 28th, 2005 in Daly City, CA, Eddie Chung Chou Lee was found stabbed to death, lying in an easement on the West side of Westlake Park, close to Lee’s home on Cliffside Drive. Since we are unsure of Eddie’s preferred pronoun we will be using the male as is reported in the Police reports as well as news outlets in the area that reported on this crime.

He was found dressed in women’s clothes, and Investigators ruled out robbery as a possible motive for the crime. This was because of finding cash and other personal items on Lee’s body. There was no evidence he had been sexually assaulted. Police had little to go on when investigating Lee’s murder.

Eddie Lee has been described as an introverted man, it was reported that he often dressed in women’s clothing and made money turning tricks in San Francisco and Oakland. This all coupled with the fact that all of his family lives in Hong Kong made it harder still for the police to bring Eddie’s killer to justice.

Daly City Police Detective Gregg Oglesby was quoted as saying “We’re looking at all possibilities. It could be a John. It could have been an unhappy customer. We don’t have enough at this point to focus in on just one suspect or motive.”

Police have tracked down Eddie's friends as well as some men that they suspected were his customers, but no information has been found or made public. They have looked into his computer, phone records, address books and even attended a press conference held by Community United Against Violence, a group that specializes in fighting violence against the LGBTQIA community. So far no information has come forth.

Tina D’Elia, the director of the groups violence program, has stated that Eddie’s murder has all the indications of being a “Pickup Crime.” This is where someone will pick up a person for the sole reason of committing a crime or doing harm to the victim.

The difference is that in so many of those cases there are loved ones or family that come forward to keep the victim's name alive and in the spotlight, to put pressure on those that are responsible for solving the crime. With Eddie that has not happened and it has caused his case to go by the wayside in the public consciousness.

The police brought in a state Department of Justice profiler to help give the case a new perspective. No new information has been made public. Detective Oglesby is quoted as saying “We don’t like to bury cases here at the Daly City Police Department, this case has been frustrating, but we don’t want to give up yet.”