Governor Gavin Newsom faces intense criticism from prosecutors in San Luis Obispo County following his decision not to block the parole of a convicted murderer, paving the way for the release of a man who has spent over five decades behind bars for a heinous crime committed in 1974.
District Attorney Dan Dow has expressed strong disapproval of both the parole board’s ruling and the governor’s inaction, arguing that this outcome illustrates a significant shortfall in California’s justice system and represents a grievous denial of justice for the victim involved.
In 1974, Alberto Tamez was found guilty of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Genevieve Adaline Moreno in Nipomo.
“It is profoundly disturbing that our justice system has arrived at a point where the individual who mercilessly took the life of Genevieve Moreno over 50 years ago is now set to be released,” Dow remarked.
According to prosecutors, the assault began outside the bar where Moreno was employed, culminating in the nearby location where her lifeless body was eventually found.
The attack on Moreno occurred during the late-night hours between June 17 and the early morning of June 18, 1974.
Her body was found later that morning in a grove of eucalyptus trees roughly a quarter mile from the bar.
San Luis Obispo County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Kirschner determined Moreno died from “homicidal strangulation.”
She also suffered multiple bruises, abrasions and cuts to her face, forearms, abdomen and thighs during the attack.
Investigators identified Tamez the same morning of the murder after he was found with bloodstains on his shirt and hands, along with foxtails and other debris linked to the crime scene.
He was later convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and rape by force and sentenced in September 1974 to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Now 75 years old, Tamez was granted parole by the California Board of Parole Hearings on Dec. 30.
Dow said his office fought the release at every stage and argued there was no question about Tamez’s responsibility for the killing, calling it a “horrific, senseless act of violence.”
“My office fought this outcome at every stage, opposing his attempt to vacate his conviction and making clear to the courts that Alberto Tamez, Jr. was not a peripheral figure or a legal technicality. He was the killer. He admitted it. The evidence was overwhelming.”
Dow also said Newsom had the authority to step in and stop the parole but chose not to act, a decision prosecutors say effectively allowed the release to move forward.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Board of Parole Hearings granted parole, and that the Governor chose to take no action to reverse that decision,” Dow said.
As of May 8, Tamez remains incarcerated at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo County as release procedures continue.
“Genevieve Moreno deserved better,” Dow said. “She deserved the full protection of justice, and it is my solemn obligation as District Attorney to ensure that her story is not forgotten and that her life is honored. To see her killer released is a painful outcome that this office did not support and did not accept without a fight.”
