The "Sleepy Lagoon murder" was the name that Los Angeles newspapers used to describe the 1942 death of José Gallardo Díaz, who was discovered unconscious and dying near a swimming hole (known as the Sleepy Lagoon) with two stab wounds and a broken finger in Commerce, California, on the morning of August 3rd. Earlier, he was seen at a party for Eleanor Delgadillo Coronado where he left afterwards with his two friends, Luis "Cito" Vargas and Andrew Torres. He was then confronted by a group of friends from the 38th street neighborhood, who came to the party seeking revenge for an earlier beating of some of their friends.