Page 6 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 18, 2023 ‘COLD CASE’ CONVICTION: Georgia man, 50, convicted of firstdegree murder in 1991 shooting of Malden teen, 17 Middlesex DA, state and local police never gave up trying to fi nd young woman’s killer after decades-old slaying By Steve Freker Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lein * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net N o one ever gave up trying to find out who shot and killed Malden teen Patricia “Tricia” Moreno outside her family’s Henry Street apartment on a mid-July night in the summer of 1991. Not the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Offi ce, Mass. State Police or Malden Police. The years that passed never dimmed the hope of law enforcement that the case of a shocking murder of a young woman, just a few steps outside her home in a quiet Malden neighborhood, could be solved. Three weeks after the 32nd www.eight10barandgrille.com OPEN DAILY FOR DINNER AT 4 PM. CATCH THE CELTICS, BRUINS & NCAA SPORTS ON OUR 6 LARGE SCREEN TV'S! om WE'RE OPEN! 8 Norwood Street, Everett (617) 387-9810 anniversary of Tricia’s death, her still grieving foster family fi nally received some justice when a 50-year-old Georgia man – who formerly lived with them here in Malden – was convicted of fi rst-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting. The guilty verdict in the 32-year-old “cold case” was announced by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Malden Police Chief Glenn Cronin this week, following the six-day trial of Rodney Daniels. Daniels, who was arrested in Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, on Sept. 27, 2021, was held without bail for nearly two years here in Massachusetts following his extradition on murder charges. The trial concluded with Daniels’ conviction on Tuesday. No sentencing date has yet been announced. Those convicted of murder in the fi rst degree in Massachusetts face life in prison without the possibility of parole. New discoveries, a new witness and a witness who “fl ipped” in case GAMING DISTRICT MALDEN The foster family of Patricia “Tricia” Moreno – shot dead outside her home on Henry Street on July 20, 1991 – has been waiting 32 years for answers about her shocking slaying. (Courtesy/Middlesex District Attorney’s Offi ce) A series of discoveries, including re-interviewing of witnesses, the emergence of a new witness from the decades-old case and an alibi witness who changed her story before she died, implicating Daniels in the shooting, subsequently telling others Daniels ditched the murder weapon immediately after the crime, added up to charges against him. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit began reexamining this case in 2020, according to offi cials. Crime scene investigators returned to 21 Henry St. and reconstructed the position of Tricia on the thirdfl oor fi re escape. “Based on the position of the GAMING DISTRICT check us out at P www.MaldenGamingDistrict.com Questing, Billiards, Bouldering, e-Sports, VR, Room Escapes, Karaoke and Magic, plus many great restaurants, shops, and breweries all in Malden Center! entry wound and the trajectory of the bullet, they determined that the path of the bullet was consistent with having been fi red by an individual standing in the area of the doorway to the apartment where Tricia had resided with her foster family,” according to a report from the DA’s offi ce. Daniels had been staying in that home on the evening of the murder, the report stated. “When a family loses a loved one in a homicide, even the passage of time never fully heals that wound. That is especially true when they do not have answers about what happened and no one has been held accountable,” DA Marian Ryan said Wednesday, the day after the conviction was confi rmed. “Those who knew and loved Tricia have been waiting over three decades for answers. When I created our Cold Case Unit it was my hope that we would be able to get to these resolutions.” DA Ryan: “These Rodney Daniels, 50, of Georgia, formerly of Malden, was convicted of fi rst-degree murder in the 1991 shooting of Patricia “Tricia” Moreno outside her Henry Street apartment in Malden. Daniels is shown at his arraignment in the fall of 2021 after his arrest in Georgia. (Courtesy/NBC News) older cases present substantial challenges” “These older cases present substantial challenges and require relentless investigative work and dedicated resources,” DA Ryan added. Investigators also began re-interviewing witnesses and were able to locate a witness who had been out of the United States for an extended period, according to DA Ryan. That witness, who lived in the second-fl oor apartment at the time of Patricia’s murder, revealed that on the night of the murder he had been awakened by a loud noise and immediately looked up through the third-fl oor fi re escape. “He saw a young woman (later identifi ed as Patricia Moreno) struggling to breathe with a male standing over her. He watched as that male retreated into the foster family’s apartment,” according to a news release from the DA’s offi ce. “The witness was able to provide a physical description of that man which was consistent with the appearance of Rodney Daniels.” Further, “Investigators also developed new information that an alibi witness, who had protected Daniels in 1991, had later admitted to her friends and family members that Daniels had killed Tricia, that he had concealed the murder weapon inside an armchair and that he had subsequently disposed of the gun.” Investigators: Alibi witness admitted she lied to the grand jury “That alibi witness, although now deceased, had admitted that she lied to police investigators and an investigating grand jury in 1991 in order to protect Daniels. She had said that, even many years later, she was afraid CONVICTED | SEE PAGE 10
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