‘Take a Stand for Justice': 15 Years Later, Mom Pleads for Help to Solve CSUN Student's Murder

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office is asking for the public’s help to solve the 15-year-old cold case murder of a Cal State Northridge student and his friend.

Clifton “Cliff” Hibbert, 22, and 23-year-old Kenneth Patterson were gunned down on the 4200 block of South Figueroa Street on March 28, 2008. The friends were out celebrating Hibbert’s impending graduation.

“[Hibbert] was full of life. He was not involved in criminal activity. He’s the epitome of the American dream – parents coming from Jamaica, first generation American doing everything that we ask our young people to do,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said while standing alongside Hibbert’s mother and sister. “He went to school, he worked hard, he so much wanted to make our community a better place. And yet at age 22, his life was cut short for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Hibbert had dreams of going into business law. At the time of his death, he was back home on spring break, mother Donna Brown said.

Brown said she still remembers the last time she saw her son. “I can remember like it was yesterday as he walked to the door, turned around, looked at me with his child-like eyes. He stopped and he said, ‘Mom, I love you.’ I love you too, son,” Brown recalled.

The next morning, she got a call informing her that her son was dead.

Adrian Gonzalez, commanding officer of the LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide Division, said that Hibbert and Patterson were with two other friends the night of the murder. They were going back to hang out at the home of one of the friends.

Those two other friends dropped Hibbert and Patterson off on the street as they drove off to go look for parking. Witnesses told police that a man and woman were standing on the street at the same time, Gonzalez said. Shortly thereafter, Hibbert and Patterson were shot dead.

Witnesses at the time said the man was around 6 feet tall, between 21 and 30 years old, and had a thin build and short, black hair, according to Gonzalez. The woman was described as around 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 21 to 28 years old, with a medium build and blonde hair.

Gonzalez said police believe they’ve identified the female suspect, but she has been uncooperative. They have not identified the man.

Brown said her son was just one of many people lost to the “epidemic of gun murder” across the United States.

Her son, she said, overcame challenges and was poised to accomplish great things. Brown remembered locking eyes with her son during his high school graduation, and how she felt a great sense of pride as he flung his cap into the air.

Despite growing up in a home with a single mother, and despite Brown’s own health troubles, Hibbert persevered.

“They were giving up on me and Cliff kept on going to school, being with his peers, and he made it through as a young Black man. So, I’m pleading to the community to take a stand for justice – justice for Cliff, justice for your community, for your loved ones – because it takes a village. It takes a village to keep your community safe,” Brown said.

Anyone with information on the slaying is asked to call the LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide Division at 323-786-5100. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

Gonzalez said that he would ensure a monetary reward would be reinstated for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

Gascón said that going forward, his office will be highlighting more unsolved killings.

“I am really tired and I’m hoping that as we continue to highlight these cases – and we will, and we’ll bring more and more of these cases because I want to shock everyone’s conscious … I want you to remember Cliff, and I’m going to ask you to remember many others in the weeks to come,” the DA said.