Cold Case Breakthrough: Los Angeles Man Arrested for 1984 Assault and Murder of Northern California Woman
The 1984 murder of a lady remains a mystery, and a man from Los Angeles was detained in relation to the case.
On June 27, authorities arrested 59-year-old Richard Moore at his Echo Park residence in connection with the death of 69-year-old Madeline Garcia in Northern California.
On the 300 Block of Atlantic Street in Roseville, prosecutors claimed that Moore, who was 19 years old at the time, assaulted the woman. Afterward, he allegedly dragged her corpse into an alleyway and brutally beat her to death.
Investigators looked into the case after the woman’s murder but came up empty. In due time, all leads faded.
Now, forty years later, officials were able to identify Moore as the culprit and track him down with the assistance of numerous law enforcement agencies and a breakthrough in DNA technology.
Moore lived in a peaceful Echo Park neighborhood, and his neighbors were shocked to hear the accusations, especially because they remembered him as a kind and helpful neighbor.
“It’s been a shock to learn that something so crazy is happening with someone who we live near,” one neighbor, who did not wish to be identified, told KTLA’s Angeli Kakade. “He was always pretty friendly. I rode my bicycle by one time and he asked if I needed to air my tires.”
“We got up early to walk the dogs and noticed a bunch of unmarked cop cars, like Toyota Camrys and Hondas with the red and blues,” the neighbor recalled. “It definitely had a heavy sort of feeling to it that something big has gone down.”
After his return to Placer County, Moore faced one murder accusation in addition to further charges of kidnapping and rape.
He was arraigned on July 8 and entered a not-guilty plea during the hearing. A public lawyer was appointed during the appearance. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office has announced that the next court date is set for July 22.
The Placer County District Attorney’s Investigations Unit, the Roseville Police Department, and the FBI Sacramento Field Office were among the many agencies that were involved in the decades-long inquiry.
Source: KTLA