A suspect has been arrested in connection with the cold case murder four decades ago of a former beauty queen.
Noelle Russo, 37, a ‘one-time teen-age beauty princess’, was last seen on June 24, 1983. Russo, of Rohnert Park, had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend and went to stay with a friend in Santa Rosa, SFGate reported. Her friend drove her to Courthouse Square to catch a bus back home that night. But instead, she vanished.
A few days later, a young boy stumbled into Russo’s body behind a real estate office in an unincorporated part of Rohnert Park, roughly 50 miles north of San Francisco. Russo was found naked and beaten to death near Sonoma State University.
Over the years, investigators gathered a significant amount of evidence and had persons of interest, but took no one into custody.
On October 2, police arrested one of the original persons of interest.
‘Alfredo Carretero Jr, was positively identified as a suspect in Ms Russo’s murder based on DNA and other evidence,’ stated the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office last Tuesday.
Carretero, 65, of Lakeport, has been charged with murder and is being held at the Main Adult Detention Facility with no bail.
Russo grew up in San Mateo County, California, and made headlines after being named Miss Burlingame at the age of 16 in 1962.
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‘I couldn’t have been more surprised,’ she said at the time.
‘I never in the world thought I’d win. I just entered to please mother.’
The Press Democrat described Russo as a ‘one-time teen-age beauty princess’. Her friends said she would ride her bike and hitchhike, which was a matter of concern to them.
Russo married and divorced twice, and had one son.
If and how Carretero knew Russo has not been disclosed.
Carretero is scheduled to appear in court on October 18.
Anyone with information on the cold case murder is asked to contact the sheriff’s office.
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