Almost exactly one year after the California Attorney General’s Office announced it would be launching an investigation into the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s role in the disappearance and death of 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson, the book was officially shut last week. In a letter from the office just vacated by Kamala Harris, who took the reins on the investigation until she vacated the seat to join the senate, there was “insufficient evidence” to prosecute deputies for their actions, according to a story first broken in the LA Daily News.
In 2009, Richardson disappeared after leaving the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station late at night, following a brief arrest. Nearly a year later, her remains were found in Malibu Canyon — and then moved by sheriff’s deputies without permission from coroner’s officials. The movement of the remains was especially alarming to Richardson’s family but, according to those conducting the investigation, the statute of limitations to raise those concerns had long passed.