District Attorney Dan Dow Responds to Release of First-Degree Murderer Alberto Tamez, Jr.
Author: District Attorney
Date: 5/6/2026 1:20 PM
District Attorney Dan Dow today issued a statement in response to the release of Alberto Tamez, Jr., a convicted first-degree murderer who was granted parole on December 30, 2025. The Governor chose to take no further action on the parole decision, which was communicated to the Board on April 24, 2026.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA — San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow today issued a statement in response to the release of Alberto Tamez, Jr. (CDCR #B59801), a convicted first-degree murderer who was granted parole by the California Board of Parole Hearings on December 30, 2025. The Governor chose to take no further action on the parole decision, which was communicated to the Board on April 24, 2026. As a result, Tamez is immediately eligible for parole and will be released from the California Men's Colony (CMC) in San Luis Obispo.
BACKGROUND — THE CRIME
In the late-night hours of June 17 into the early morning hours of June 18, 1974, Genevieve Adaline Moreno — a wife and a beloved member of the Nipomo community — was working her shift at Old Blues Bar located at 605 West Tefft Street in Nipomo, California, in San Luis Obispo County. When her husband, Richard Moreno, returned to pick her up as was their nightly custom, he found the bar empty, the cash register open and emptied of its paper currency, and his wife nowhere to be found. He immediately called the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.
At approximately 5:35 a.m. on June 18, 1974, Mrs. Moreno's body was discovered in a field approximately a quarter mile from Old Blues Bar, beneath a grove of eucalyptus trees. She had been robbed, kidnapped, beaten, sexually assaulted, and murdered. The San Luis Obispo County Medical Examiner, Dr. Karl Kirschner, concluded that Mrs. Moreno died as a result of homicidal strangulation, noting that her injuries were "classical for those of homicidal strangulation" and that he could "think of no accident whereby such injuries and such abuse would occur on a human being other than homicide." Mrs. Moreno had suffered multiple bruises, abrasions, and lacerations to her face, forearms, abdomen, and thighs.
Alberto Tamez, Jr. was identified as the sole perpetrator that same morning. Law enforcement observed bloodstains on his shirt and hands, and foxtails and other debris on his clothing consistent with the crime scene. Tamez ultimately admitted to striking Mrs. Moreno, robbing the cash register, dragging her from the bar to the eucalyptus grove, continuing to beat her as she screamed and begged him not to hurt her, and leaving her there after she lost consciousness and he could no longer detect her breathing.
On June 20, 1974, Tamez was charged with first-degree murder (Penal Code § 187), robbery (Penal Code § 211), kidnapping (Penal Code § 207), and rape by force and violence (Penal Code § 261). The murder charge was accompanied by three special circumstances allegations — that it was committed during the commission of a robbery, a kidnapping, and a rape. On September 3, 1974, Tamez pled no contest to first-degree murder. He was sentenced on September 23, 1974, to life in state prison with the possibility of parole.
RECENT LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In April 2023, Tamez filed a petition under Penal Code § 1172.6 (formerly § 1170.95) seeking to vacate his first-degree murder conviction and be resentenced. District Attorney Dan Dow and Deputy District Attorney Ashley Cervera filed a thorough written opposition to the petition on April 30, 2024, demonstrating that the record of conviction conclusively established Tamez as the sole and actual killer of Mrs. Moreno — acting entirely alone — and that he was not entitled to relief under the changes to California's murder laws. On July 9, 2025, the defense withdrew the petition.
DA DOW'S STATEMENT
District Attorney Dan Dow issued the following statement:
"To all who knew and loved Genevieve Adaline Moreno — I want you to know that this office has stood by her memory and will continue to do so. What happened to Genevieve was a horrific, senseless act of violence. She was an innocent woman doing her job, and she was robbed of her life, her dignity, and her future by a man who showed her no mercy. No amount of time erases that truth.
I am deeply troubled that our criminal and victim justice system has reached a result where the man who brutally murdered Genevieve Moreno over fifty years ago will now walk free. 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.
Genevieve Moreno deserved better. 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.
As your District Attorney, I will continue to use every lawful tool available to ensure that violent offenders are held fully accountable for the harm they inflict on our community's most vulnerable. Justice for Genevieve Moreno demanded that Alberto Tamez, Jr. remain incarcerated. We fought for that outcome. 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. We will remain vigilant in protecting the people of San Luis Obispo County."
— Dan Dow, District Attorney, San Luis Obispo County
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office is committed to seeking truth and justice, protecting the vulnerable, and giving voice to crime victims and their families throughout San Luis Obispo County.
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