Cynthia “Linda” Alonzo slain in 2004, found
OAKLAND – Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley announces that the body of missing homicide victim Cynthia “Linda” Alonzo, who was killed nearly 18 years ago, has been found in Oakland.
“After nearly 18 years of waiting, the family of Linda Alonzo may finally find some peace in knowing that their loved one can ultimately be laid to rest,” said District Attorney O’Malley. “We cannot begin to imagine the pain and unrest that her family must have felt through all this time not knowing where Linda was. Our thoughts are with them.”
Linda went missing on Thanksgiving, November 24, 2004. She and her boyfriend, Defendant Eric Mora, were last seen in West Oakland getting into a car together on their way to Linda’s mother’s house in San Francisco for Thanksgiving. She was never seen alive again.
A missing person’s investigation began shortly after by the Oakland Police Department, with the defendant as the prime suspect. Although Linda’s body was not found at the time, investigators were able to piece together what happened to her over the next two years. The case turned into a murder investigation, eventually prompting the District Attorney’s Office to file murder charges against the defendant in February 2007. The defendant was tried and convicted of second-degree murder in March of 2012. He was sentenced to 15 years to life at the time.
However, in March 2016 the defendant’s case was returned to Alameda County for trial. In October 2016, he confessed to killing Linda Alonzo and provided the general location of Linda’s buried body.
Though an extensive search was conducted with the FBI, OPD, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office, Linda’s body was not found in 2016.
The defendant was sentenced in June 2017 to 11 years in state prison.
On May 4, 2022, a work crew at the corner of 7th and Maritime streets on the Oakland Army Base, uncovered a human body wrapped in tarps in a shallow grave. OPD, FBI and the District Attorney’s Office were called to the scene. One of Linda’s children was also at the scene to see the gravesite. The Alameda County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy. On May 12, the coroner confirmed the body to be that of Linda Alonzo.
“The District Attorney’s Office fought hard for justice on behalf of Linda’s family. It was a long road to get here, and the family stuck with us along the way. We are relieved to have finally found Linda so the family can have a proper burial. For too many years, Eric Mora denied killing Linda until he confessed in 2016. May Linda finally rest in peace,” said Deputy District Attorney Danielle London, who prosecuted the case.
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Contact: Public Information Officer Angela Ruggiero // Angela.Ruggiero@acgov.org // (510) 919-0081