Eliseo Moreno

Mass Murderer

Eliseo Moreno and the 1983 Texas Murder Spree

Background

Eliseo Hernandez Moreno was a 24-year-old mechanic and lawn-mower repairman whose marital problems preceded a deadly rampage through southeast Texas. Moreno was born on September 27, 1959, in Hidalgo County, Texas. By October 1983, he was estranged from his wife, Blanca, and was reportedly searching for her when he armed himself and began a series of shootings, robberies and kidnappings. On October 11, 1983, Moreno killed six people during a rapidly unfolding crime spree that began in College Station and continued through the Hempstead area. The murders occurred between approximately 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Moreno also kidnapped six people, robbed a man of his automobile and used several vehicles in an effort to escape. Police captured him later that night at a roadblock near Wharton, Texas.

The Murders of Juan and Esther Garza

The violence began at the College Station apartment of Moreno's brother-in-law, Juan Garza, and Juan's wife, Esther Garza. Moreno was reportedly looking for his estranged wife and believed members of her family knew where she could be found. Witnesses heard gunshots and the screams of the Garza children. One neighbor approached the apartment and saw Moreno shooting Juan Garza. Moreno then followed the witness outside and threatened him with a handgun before fleeing in a maroon Ford. Juan and Esther Garza were found on the floor inside their apartment. Ballistics testing later established that bullets recovered from Juan had been fired from the same stainless-steel Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver used in the subsequent killing of a state trooper.

The Murder of Trooper Russell Lynn Boyd

Approximately half an hour after the Garza murders, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Russell Lynn Boyd stopped Moreno on Highway 6, about ten miles north of Hempstead. Boyd was in uniform, driving a marked patrol vehicle and working his regular traffic-enforcement shift. His patrol car's emergency lights were operating, and his ticket book was later discovered near his body, indicating that the confrontation began as a traffic stop. Moreno shot Boyd several times with the .357 Magnum. Boyd's protective vest stopped or deflected some of the bullets, but he suffered five gunshot wounds. Medical evidence showed that one bullet passed through his arm and entered his chest. Another shot was fired from close range into the area beneath his ear while he was lying wounded beside the highway. William and Janie Norris drove past the scene and saw Boyd lying on the ground. Moreno appeared from behind the patrol vehicle and attempted to wave them down. When they continued driving, he removed Boyd's Remington 870 shotgun from the patrol car and pursued their vehicle in the maroon Ford at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. The Norrises escaped and reported the incident to the Waller County Sheriff's Office. Moreno also took Boyd's blue-steel Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum service revolver. Investigators later recovered both the stolen service weapon and the stainless-steel revolver used in the murders. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Ann M. Bennatt 70 yr old Female

Eliseo Moreno