Southern California man arrested for unsolved 1984 murder

A Los Angeles man has been arrested in connection with the unsolved murder of a woman in 1984.

Richard Moore, 59, was taken into custody at his Echo Park home on June 27 for the murder of 69-year-old Madeline Garcia in Northern California.

Moore was 19 when he attacked the woman in the 300 block of Atlantic Street in Roseville, according to prosecutors. He then dragged her body into an alley where she was beaten to death, officials said.

Since the woman’s murder, detectives have been investigating the case but have been unable to find any solid clues. The case eventually came to a standstill.

Now, 40 years later, with the help of multiple law enforcement agencies and a breakthrough in DNA technology, Moore has been identified as a suspect and tracked down by authorities.

Neighbors who lived near Moore in the quiet Echo Park neighborhood said they couldn’t believe the allegations. Many said the man seemed friendly and helpful.

“It was a shock to learn that something so crazy was happening to someone we live near,” a neighbor who asked to remain anonymous told KTLA’s Angeli Kakade. “He was always pretty friendly. I rode by on my bike one time and he asked if I needed to pump up my tires.”

When police surrounded Moore’s house on June 27, neighbors were stunned.

“We got up early to walk the dogs and noticed a number of unmarked police cars, like Toyota Camrys and Hondas in red and blue,” the neighbor recalled. “It was definitely a sinking feeling that something big had happened.”

Moore was returned to Placer County where he was charged with murder and special charges related to kidnapping and rape.

He appeared in court on July 8 for an arraignment, where he was assigned a public defender and entered a not guilty plea. His next court date is scheduled for July 22, according to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.

The decades-long investigation involved multiple agencies, including the Placer County District Attorney’s Office Investigative Unit, the Roseville Police Department and the FBI’s Sacramento field office.