L.A. TACO met with retired deputy medical investigator Vidal Herrera, 74, at his headquarters, discreetly tucked away in El Sereno. Entering through the gates, we found ourselves surrounded by beautiful copper sculptures, while a back fence was lined with barbed wire and copper figures of male torsos.
Towards the gate, a large graffiti mural read, “1-800-AUTOPSY.”
Herrera’s long rap sheet as a medical investigator and business owner spans from identifying the "Night Stalker” via fingerprint to creating coffin furniture for the vampire series “True Blood.” In addition to Herrera’s corpse-flaying skills, his hobbies include showcasing a bright red 1950 Studebaker Champion as part of a lowrider club and painting, as seen here in his famous illustration detailing East Los Angeles.