Detectives in California have arrested a man on suspicion of sexually assaulting and murdering an older woman in 1984, when she was 19 years old.
Richard Moore lived under the pseudonym “Woody” or “Woody of Fairbanks” Sacramento News & Review The news broke before his arrest last month.
Moore, now 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and rape in the death of Madeline Garcia, 69. Authorities announced Monday that Moore was arraigned this week, according to a news release from the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.
Evidence collected at the scene at Atlantic and Branstetter streets in Roseville indicates Garcia was dragged into an alley by his assailants, where he was beaten multiple times, killing him.
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Richard Moore, 59, was 19 when he allegedly killed Madeleine Garcia. He was arrested in Los Angeles on June 27 and indicted this week on murder, kidnapping and rape charges. (Placer County District Attorney’s Office)
“She was brutally attacked,” said Roseville Homicide Detective James Fujitani. Sacramento News & Review The case remained unsolved in 2020. “It was such a violent attack that her dentures were found in a ditch.”
Garcia’s body was found shoved behind a trash can, her face beaten almost beyond recognition, and blood splattered every 20 to 30 feet, suggesting the assailant had tried to move her multiple times, dropping her in the process, according to the outlet.
“To me, it seemed like a rage-fueled murder,” said Garcia’s granddaughter, Sharon Garcia. He told the media. “And if it was anger, it makes you wonder, ‘Did this person know her?’
Many in her neighborhood called Garcia “the Can Lady,” and according to the outlet, she would walk around downtown Roseville every morning before dawn picking up cans from trash bins, often on a large tricycle.
But the widow was not poor: “Grandma Garcia,” as her family called her, was a Spanish-American housewife who loved cooking, gardening, crafts, and caring for the neighborhood children.
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Madeline Garcia (pictured) was nicknamed “Can Woman” by her neighbors in downtown Roseville, California, for her quirky habits, but her family called her “Grandma Garcia.” (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to the media and the district attorney’s office, investigators from the Roseville Police Department and the FBI’s Sacramento field office used familial DNA screening to trace bodily fluids preserved from the crime scene 40 years ago to Moore.
Just weeks after Garcia’s murder, Moore was arrested on suspicion of arson two and a half blocks from where Garcia was found, according to the outlet.
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“Ultimately, advancements in forensic technology combined with investigative tenacity and teamwork led to the identification and arrest of Richard Moore,” the city of Roseville said in a press release. (Roseville Police Department)
Moore was arrested in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI’s Los Angeles Division on June 27, according to the district attorney’s office. He was appointed a public defender on Monday and is scheduled to next appear in court on July 22.
Moore was known as a friendly man who liked to ride his bike around Echo Park, Los Angeles locals told the outlet. Last month, locals told the outlet that Moore had found a lost cat and worked to find its owner.
“This is a credit to the cold case unit,” Fujitani, the lead investigator on the case, told the Sacramento News & Review.
“He had lived a low profile for years,” District Attorney Morgan Geer told the judge at Moore’s arraignment, the outlet reported. “He attacked his victim in the early hours of the morning, dragged her into an alley, sexually assaulted her and then beat her to death.”
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“It has been a long time coming to this day. Justice does not stand still,” the district attorney said. “The defendant committed a heinous crime in 1984… And anyone who could commit such a crime, regardless of age or how much time has passed since the crime, is a danger to our community. And anyone who could commit such a crime should not be allowed to remain free while their trial is pending.”
The judge agreed, and Moore was jailed without bail.
“Ultimately, advancements in forensic technology combined with investigative tenacity and teamwork led to the identification and arrest of Richard Moore,” the city of Roseville said in a press release.
Garcia’s oldest granddaughter, Terri Middlekauff, said Moore’s arrest was “bittersweet.”
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” she told the Sacramento News & Review. “I just hope my grandchildren remember me the way I remember her.”
