SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego police are asking for the public's help in solving the 33-year-old murder of comic book publisher Todd Loren, whose killer remains at large despite decades of investigation.
Loren, 32, was found stabbed to death in his Hillcrest apartment on Fifth Avenue on June 18, 1992. His father discovered his body during a welfare check after Loren failed to show up for work at their comic book publication business.
"Todd was actually found in his bedroom, on his bed, and he had been stabbed multiple times," said Detective Tracy Barr of the San Diego Police Department's Cold Case Unit.
Loren was well-known in the comic book industry for his comedic parodies and biographies of rock groups and celebrities. ABC 10News had interviewed him at his business five years before his death.
The case initially generated several leads, including the discovery of Loren's stolen car in San Francisco a day after the murder. A man was arrested for having the vehicle after his fingerprints were found inside, but he denied involvement in the killing.
"He's just standing on the sidewalk and some random white guy shows up in this car, tosses him the keys, and says, Hey, it's a rental car, keep it for a couple days, and, uh, you know, I got a plane to catch, and then he takes off," the suspect told detectives.
The case was also briefly linked to serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace in 1997. However, detectives never found any connection between Cunanan and Loren.
"His name will pop up, and I don't know if it was just because of the time. It was such a big news story and everyone was kind of focused on this, so anytime there was a murder of maybe a gay male, they automatically kind of associate it," Barr said.
For Loren's family, the decades without answers have been devastating. His brother Steve Shapiro said their father never recovered from the loss.
"He took it really hard, and he was never quite the same, and that kind of affected everybody," Shapiro said.
Their father died several years ago without ever learning who killed his son. Their mother, now in her 90s, still hopes for answers.
"As far as I knew, it had gone cold and there had been no follow-ups on it for decades," Shapiro said.
But Detective Barr wants the family and community to know the case hasn't been forgotten.
"Over time, people think we don't care anymore, or their loved one is forgotten. That's never the case. We don't let these cases go," Barr said.
Detectives hope renewed attention on the case, along with new tips or forgotten memories from people in the Hillcrest neighborhood, will finally lead them to Loren's killer.
"He didn't deserve this; he deserved better," Barr said.
Anyone with information about Todd Loren's murder is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
