Woman’s body is found — 18 years after her murder
The body of Cynthia “Linda” Alonzo, a woman killed nearly 18 years ago by her boyfriend, was discovered in a shallow grave in Oakland in early May, authorities announced on Wednesday.
Alonzo was 48 when she was last seen getting into a vehicle with her boyfriend, Eric Mora, in West Oakland on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, 2004. Mora has since confessed to killing her and has been convicted of seconddegree murder in the slaying. The pair were supposed to drive to Alonzo’s mother’s home in San Francisco for Thanksgiving dinner, but authorities said she was never seen alive again.
A crew that was working on the Oakland Army Base at the corner of Seventh and Maritime streets on May 4 discovered a human body “wrapped in tarps in a shallow grave,” Alameda County district attorney’s officials said in a statement. Officials with the FBI, Oakland Police Department, Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office responded to the scene, as well as one of Alonzo’s children who arrived to “see the gravesite,” officials said.
The body was identified by Alameda County coroner’s officials on May 12, officials said.
“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,” said Deputy District Attorney Danielle London, who prosecuted Mora.
“We are relieved to have finally found Linda so the family can have a proper burial.”
Even without a body, investigators pieced together what happened after Alonzo’s disappearance, and prosecutors sought murder charges against Mora in February 2007.
Investigators discovered Alonzo’s blood in Mora’s home in the Oakland hills, including blood on his bedroom wall,
with evidence pointing to Mora’s attempts to clean it up, according to Chronicle reports at the time. Investigators also noted Mora had unevenly sanded the bedroom and living room floors, and had a deep cut on his hand.
Mora was convicted of second-degree murder in March of 2012. At the time, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
His case was subsequently returned to trial in March 2016 in Alameda County, officials said. Months later, in October 2016, Mora confessed to killing Alonzo, officials said. Mora was sentenced in June 2017 to 11 years in state prison after providing a “general location of Linda’s buried body.”
Her remains were not discovered at that time despite “extensive” searches.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said Wednesday, “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.
“We cannot begin to imagine the pain and unrest that her family must have felt through all this time not knowing where Linda was,” O’Malley said. “Our thoughts are with them.”