Suspect arrested in 1983 killing of Rohnert Park’s Noelle Russo Kinzie

Four decades after a 37-year-old Rohnert Park woman was found dead near Sonoma State University, a suspect in her killing appeared Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa.

Lakeport resident Alfredo Carretero Jr., 65, who was arrested earlier this week, was arraigned before Judge Laura Passaglia on one count of murder.

He’s scheduled to return to court Oct. 18 to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty in the death of Noelle Russo Kinzie, whose naked body was found June 27, 1983.

Carretero is being represented by the Sonoma County Public Defender’s Office. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

He is being held without bail at the Sonoma County jail.

Authorities have released little information about Carretero, other then that he has prior convictions in Sonoma County in 1995 and 2001 for possessing stolen property and drug possession, respectively.

Court records also show he was involved in a domestic violence civil case in September 1985, about two years after Russo Kinzie’s death.

His arrest on Monday was announced Tuesday evening by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, which indicated Carretero had previously been identified as a person of interest.

An arrest came after DNA evidence was submitted to the Santa Clara County Crime Lab and the Serological Research Institute in Richmond beginning in 2010.

Results identified Carretero as a suspect in Russo Kinzie’s death, although investigators have not specified the type of DNA used in the investigation.

The matter is still being investigated and a Sheriff’s Office spokesman said no other information would be released beyond what was in Tuesday’s announcement.

This includes whether Carretero is being looked at for any other unsolved killings in Sonoma County.

The Press Democrat reached out to both labs for comment and a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Crime Lab referred questions to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Serological Research Institute has been involved in cases across the Bay Area and played a role in at least one other Sonoma County cold case in recent years: The 1996 murder of Michelle Marie Veal, whose body was found beside a road near Rohnert Park.

For the most part, historical information on Russo Kinzie’s death is from The Press Democrat archives, which show she had gotten significant coverage in 1983.

In a Press Democrat story at the time, Russo Kinzie was described as a San Mateo County native and a graduate of Burlingame High School. She was a “one-time teen-age beauty princess” after being named Miss Burlingame in 1962 at the age of 16.

Russo Kinzie moved to Sonoma County sometime in the 1970s.

A Santa Rosa Junior College student, she lived in an apartment on Avram Avenue in Rohnert Park with her 18-year-old son. She planned to move to Boyes Hot Springs around the time of her death.

According to a Press Democrat story dated July 24, 1983, the 37-year-old was last seen June 24 in downtown Santa Rosa.

She was with a friend after having a fight with her boyfriend and had planned to take a bus to her Rohnert Park home.

In a story dated Sept. 6, 1983, investigators said they believe Russo Kinzie missed the last bus for the night and caught a ride with someone.

A “young boy” found her body behind a realty office at Petaluma Hill Road and East Cotati Avenue near Sonoma State University, according to the September article.

An article dated July 8, 1983 described the boy as the 7-year-old son of a real estate salesman.

Investigators said lumber that was stacked near the realty office may have been used in the beating and investigators at the time were trying to determine if Russo Kinzie had been raped.

In the days after the killing, investigators used a sketch artist to draw Russo Kinzie in the clothes she was wearing on June 24, 1983 and circulated it in hopes of finding leads.

Friends described Russo Kinzie as talkative and expressed concern she would interact with the wrong people.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, “Ms. Russo’s family has been notified of the arrest and would appreciate privacy.”

Anyone with information related to this case may contact the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office at 707-565-2185 or submit an anonymous tip at sonomasheriff.org/silent-witness.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi