Thus far, Crystal Morado’s killer has evaded county sheriffs.
Two years after Morado was found dead on Hecker Pass Highway,
slumped over the passenger seat in her still-running car, sheriffs
say they’re tracking down the last few leads, but haven’t made any
arrests.
Gilroy – Thus far, Crystal Morado’s killer has evaded county sheriffs. Two years after Morado was found dead on Hecker Pass Highway, slumped over the passenger seat in her still-running car, sheriffs say they’re tracking down the last few leads, but haven’t made any arrests.
Morado, 20, was the informal wife of gangster James “Tibbs” Morado, who is serving a life sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison after pleading guilty to federal racketeering conspiracy charges in 2005. Police have called Mr. Morado a “general” in the Nuestra Familia prison gang, linked to Norteño street gangs.
“People commonly refer to the NF as the strongest [Norteño] prison gang,” said Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal. “Gilroy is more dominated by the Norte or Norteño [than NF] … They have a street presence, but the prisons are where they started, and where they’re concentrated.”
Though Sheriff’s detectives say the two weren’t legally wed, the Salinas woman took his Morado’s name sometime in the year-and-a-half before her death.
Morado’s body was found on the afternoon of Jan. 31, 2005, just east of Pole Line Road, where her car was stopped, its motor still running. Sheriffs and police have declined to speculate on why Morado was killed, or to specify how she died. Bullet casings were found at the scene, and the commercial trucker who spotted Morado’s idle car saw blood on her body. Her death followed the restructuring of Nuestra Familia after 20 gangsters, including Morado’s husband, were indicted.
Asked if the death had become a cold case, Sheriff’s Sgt. Edward Wise said it isn’t yet – but if existing leads don’t pan out, it might be one soon.
