Gavin Newsom spent weeks fighting a Sacramento child molester's parole decision last winter.
A 56-year-old woman was beaten, raped, and strangled – and her killer's parole sat on Newsom's desk for months.
The DA personally warned Newsom what would happen if he made the wrong call.
What Alberto Tamez Did to Genevieve Moreno
In June 1974, Genevieve Adaline Moreno was working the night shift at the Old Blues Bar in Nipomo, California.
Alberto Tamez Jr. robbed the register, dragged her out of the bar, and beat her as she screamed and begged him to stop.
He raped her, strangled her, and left her body under a grove of eucalyptus trees a quarter-mile away.
Her husband arrived to pick her up and found an empty bar.
Tamez confessed – to the beating, the robbery, the dragging, all of it – and pleaded no contest to first-degree murder in 1974.
San Luis Obispo County DA Dan Dow fought Tamez's release at every stage, including a 2023 attempt by Tamez to have his conviction vacated under new California laws.
Dow's office filed a written opposition and won – the defense withdrew the petition in July 2025.
Then in December 2025, the parole board granted Tamez's release anyway.
Newsom had until April 24, 2026, to reverse it.
He communicated his decision to the board quietly – and let the release proceed.
"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," Dow said.
"He was the killer. He admitted it. The evidence was overwhelming."
"Genevieve Moreno deserved better. She deserved the full protection of justice."
The Parole Case Newsom Fought — and the One He Ignored
When Sacramento child molester David Allen Funston – convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation against children as young as 4 – was granted parole in early 2026, Newsom responded within days.
He publicly opposed the decision, asked the board to review it, and took political credit for pushing back.
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper held a press conference.
Republican lawmakers introduced emergency reform legislation.
The story dominated California news for weeks.
For Genevieve Moreno – beaten, raped, and strangled – there was no press conference and no public statement.
Newsom fights the cases that make the news and ignores the ones that don't.
Moreno had no surviving family to create a firestorm – and Newsom knew it.
He filed his paperwork and moved on.
Dow sid: "I think the right thing would be to stop letting violent criminals out of our prisons just to satisfy his policy desire to empty prisons."
California's Elderly Parole Program Has Now Done This Twice
The Elderly Parole Program that freed Tamez was expanded through a last-minute amendment to a 2020 budget bill – Assembly Bill 3234 – which lowered the eligibility age from 60 to 50 and required only 20 years served.
It passed without a single Senate policy committee hearing.
Republican State Sen. Brian Jones introduced SB 286 to exclude rapists and murderers from the program entirely.
It passed the Senate Public Safety Committee – and then died.
A follow-up bill, SB 1278, was introduced after the Funston outrage.
California Democrats killed that one in committee too, just weeks ago.
"Releasing violent rapists under the so-called 'elderly parole' is not only an insult to victims but a grave danger to Californians," Jones said.
Sacramento ignored him anyway.
Newsom Is Running for President on This Record
Newsom is laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run.
He wants to stand in front of the country and talk about protecting women and fighting for the vulnerable.
Republicans have been here before.
In 1988, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis was the frontrunner for president – polished, confident his record could withstand scrutiny.
Then Willie Horton happened.
Horton was a convicted murderer released on a weekend furlough program Dukakis supported – and went on to commit rape and assault.
One case. One decision. One governor who thought the political cost would never come.
It destroyed Dukakis.
Alberto Tamez Jr. is Gavin Newsom's Willie Horton – and Newsom handed his opponents the file himself.
Moreno had no surviving family to fight for her at the parole hearing – and nobody from Sacramento showed up either.
In 2023, Dow blocked Tamez's attempt to vacate the murder conviction entirely.
When the parole hearing came in December, he sent a deputy to fight it.
And when Newsom went silent, Dow issued the statement that made sure Genevieve Moreno's name was spoken.
Dow said it straight: "Justice for Genevieve Moreno demanded that Alberto Tamez, Jr. remain incarcerated. We fought for that outcome."
Newsom didn't fight.
He didn't even show up.
Sources:
- Dan Dow, "District Attorney Dan Dow Responds to Release of First-Degree Murderer Alberto Tamez, Jr.," San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, May 2026.
- "Nipomo Reeling As 1974 Barroom Killer Walks Free After Newsom Sits It Out," Hoodline, May 9, 2026.
- "California Governor Newsom's Silence Seals Release Of 1974 'Eucalyptus Grove' Killer," Tampa Free Press, May 9, 2026.
- "Therapy, Remorse: A Look at How 'Monster' Child Molester Got Parole and New Efforts to Alter Law," Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2026.
- Sen. Brian W. Jones, SB 286 Fact Sheet, California State Senate Republican Caucus, February 2025.
- "California Elderly Parole Reform Bill Fails in Committee," CBS Sacramento, April 2026.