Two suspects have been arrested in the 32-year-old cold case murder of a man in California, including the mother of his two children and a man who was her boyfriend at the time, authorities announced Tuesday.
Relatives found Zachary Jackson fatally shot on June 17, 1993 inside his home in Hayward, about 30 miles from San Francisco, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Authorities have said they believe Jackson was killed days earlier, on or around June 14. He was 30 years old.
Despite an investigation, no arrests were made in the case and it eventually went cold.
During a press conference on Monday, Alameda County Sheriff’s Detective Pat Smyth said officers initially probed the killing as a possible dispute between Jackson and his landlord. In the end, however, they arrested 56-year-old Veronica Fonseca — the mother of Jackson’s children, who were 1 and 4 years old at the time of the deadly shooting — and Anthony Fox, 54, her boyfriend from 1993.
“We believe they were both there and that Mr. Fox was the one who pulled the trigger,” Smyth said.
The former couple is facing charges including murder and first-degree residential burglary in connection with Jackson’s death.
Police reportedly interviewed Fonseca on several occasions following the shooting, but they uncovered no evidence that would suggest she played a role. Smyth said that changed in 2014, when an anonymous tipster phoned in and told investigators that Fonseca and Fox were responsible for Jackson’s death.
Investigators then hit a “roadblock” that stalled the case for years, Smyth said, though he did not provide specifics.
It wasn’t until October of this year that authorities were able to track down several corroborating witnesses, leading to the charges against both Fonseca and Fox.