NORTH COAST, Calif. — Sonoma County authorities on Monday arrested a Lakeport man who they said was responsible for the beating death of a woman in Rohnert Park 40 years ago, an arrest made thanks to investigators’ continuing work on the case over the years and DNA analysis.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office arrested Alfredo Carretero Jr., 65 — an original person of interest in the case — for the June 1983 killing of Noelle Kinzie Russo.
Officials took Carretero into custody and booked him into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility for murder on Monday afternoon. He’s being held with no bail.
By Tuesday, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office had filed a murder charge against Carretero.
He was arraigned before Judge Laura Passaglia on Wednesday morning and is scheduled to return to court for the entry of plea on Oct. 18.
A report issued by Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Dillon, the agency’s public information officer, explained that on June 27, 1983, deputies were dispatched to a report of a deceased, naked woman in the unincorporated area of Rohnert Park.
The woman, later identified as Russo, had been beaten to death, Dillon said.
Dillon said detectives with the Violent Crime Investigations, or VCI, Unit began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Russo’s murder.
Deputies and detectives collected a significant amount of evidence during this investigation, and numerous interviews were conducted. Detectives developed certain persons of interest over the years, but no arrests were made, Dillon said.
However, Dillon said that, through the years, VCI detectives continued to work on Russo’s case.
Between 2010 and 2023 they submitted several items of evidence for DNA analysis to the Santa Clara County Crime Lab and the Serological Research Institute, Dillon reported.
Dillon said Carretero, who had been an original person of interest in Russo’s murder, was positively identified as a suspect based on DNA and other evidence.
As a result, VCI detectives obtained a warrant to arrest Carretero Jr. for Russo’s murder.
Dillon said Russo’s family has been notified of the arrest and would appreciate privacy.
Throughout this investigation, detectives worked closely with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, Dillon said.
“The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office are both dedicated to justice for murder victims, whether the case is new or old. The VCI Unit continues to investigate many cold cases and relentlessly pursue justice for the victims of violent crime,” Dillon’s report noted.
Over the years, Lake County law enforcement officials have had numerous contacts with Carretero.
Lauren Berlinn, public information office for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, told Lake County News that the agency had previous contacts with Carretero, the last of them being in 2009.
“He was arrested several times, primarily for drug-related charges,” Berlinn said.
Lake County Superior Court records show an Alfredo Carretero Jr. being convicted in 2003 of a felony assault case that resulted in prison time as well as a felony drug conviction in 2004, but Lake County News was unable to confirm by press time whether it was the same individual.
An Alfredo Carretero Jr. shown in Sonoma County Superior Court records going back to 1995 shows a conviction for receiving stolen property and possession of a controlled substance that resulted in a three-year state prison term and a February 2001 conviction for possession of a controlled substance that led to a nine-month sentence.
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Lakeport man arrested for 1983 Rohnert Park murder
- Elizabeth Larson
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