In the late summer of 2005, a quiet Kennewick, Washington community was shaken by a brutal act of violence that claimed the lives of 17-year-old Danielle Moreno and her mother, Linda Moreno. On August 1st, authorities responded to a distressing 911 call from Danielle reporting a domestic disturbance. Upon arriving at the family home, police discovered the bodies of both Danielle and 52-year-old Linda. Both had been fatally shot in the head.
Danielle, a Caucasian female, was looking forward to her senior year at Southridge High School.
The initial investigation quickly focused on Danielle's 18-year-old boyfriend, Cameron O'Shea Jones. He was brought in for questioning and arrested on an unrelated warrant. Jones had a history of juvenile offenses, which included possession of a firearm and domestic violence assault. While he was considered a person of interest and was cooperative with the police, no charges were immediately filed against him in connection with the murders. Investigators also worked to confirm the whereabouts of Danielle's father and Linda's husband, Lorenzo "Loren" Moreno, at the time of the shootings, who was determined to be at his job at a fertilizer plant.
As the investigation progressed, a more sinister and complex picture began to emerge, pointing to another suspect entirely. Law enforcement started looking into James Moran, a man already wanted for the murders of his in-laws in Kennewick the previous year. A tragic series of events and alleged systemic failures would connect Moran to the deaths of Danielle and Linda. It was discovered that Moran had been arrested in Portland, Oregon, on a drug crime prior to the Moreno murders. However, due to a mishap with fingerprint databases, his outstanding warrant for the previous homicides was not identified, and he was released.
Three days after the bodies of Danielle and Linda were discovered, James Moran became the subject of a police chase in Clark County. The pursuit ended with Moran taking his own life. While his death prevented a trial and a definitive legal conclusion to his involvement, law enforcement considered him a strong suspect in the Moreno case. In the aftermath of this devastating loss, Loren Moreno filed a $20 million claim against the City of Kennewick, Benton County, Grant County, and the state of Washington. The claim alleged that the negligence of these agencies in failing to properly manage and share fingerprint data allowed a known killer to remain free, ultimately leading to the tragic and untimely deaths of his wife and daughter.
