The Mysterious Death Of A D.C. Punk And The $10,000 Reward That May Never Be Claimed

It was just another sad story on the Los Angeles evening news: a homeless man in his mid-50s, found stabbed to death in a park in the San Fernando Valley, his body in a pool of blood behind the softball fields. It took several days for him to be identified as Frederick Smith, a musician known to friends, fans and colleagues as "Freak," someone who had left an indelible mark on the epochal '80s hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C.

Smith died on Aug. 8 in Las Palmas Park in the city of San Fernando, a northwestern suburb of Los Angeles in the valley of the same name. Four months later, the circumstances of his death remain unclear. A spokesperson for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department confirmed that his death is being treated as a homicide and remains the subject of an ongoing investigation. What is also unclear is how a talented and beloved guitarist, active in numerous bands