Three years later, Tri-Cities families still hoping for answers in cold case killings

Alyssa Moore’s plans for a music career were cut short at Kent Street and Seventh Place in Kennewick more than three years ago.

The death of the 18-year-old has remained an open case since then, and her family keeps hoping for an arrest.

“Sometimes, I feel like I’d give up the justice just for some answers,” her mother Misty Knox said, choking back tears. “What could have a girl at 18 done so horrible to somebody that they thought this was their only option.”

Kennewick police recently renewed a call for anyone to come forward with new information that would help solve the homicide.

Moore was found shot and killed at the intersection of Kent Street and Seventh Place in Kennewick after 911 callers reported hearing gunshots shortly after 3 a.m. on Sept. 22, 2021.

The Grandview High grad dreamed of pursuing a music career. Knox previously told the Tri-City Herald that her daughter had started writing and performing her own music and raps when she was 9 or 10.

Knox said she is frustrated by the lack of communication from the Kennewick police over the years. The family has felt they’ve needed to pester detectives for information.

When they do get hear about the case, there isn’t much new. Detectives have told them that potential witnesses who were around Moore are reluctant to talk about what happened..

“We have no answers. We know nothing. It’s sickening,” she said. “We hear that they can’t seem to contact the people who were there that night.”

Not knowing what happened to her daughter weighs on Knox, she said. She works three jobs and feels like she has to stay busy so she won’t dwell on her loss.

Moore’s grandparents, who raised the girl, blame themselves for the circumstances around her death.

Knox asked anyone with information to provide answers.

“Remember that the people that you’re protecting, if the wheels were turned, they wouldn’t protect you,” she said. “Even a small detail could be a major breakthrough.

Unsolved cases

Moore’s homicide is one of four September 2021 cases that happened in a two week stretch in the Tri-Cities. No one has been arrested in three of them. Police don’t believe the cases are related.

Hector Cortez-Ballardo’s body was discovered by a mail carrier on Sept. 14, 2021 while the carrier was doing her deliveries east of Highway 395/Interstate 82.

The 33-year-old was a laborer who was born in Mexico and lived in Kennewick for 27 years, according to a GoFundMe created by his brother, Luis Esquivel.

Jaden Quintero, 23, was shot Sept. 17 in front of a home on the 200 block of South Washington Street in Kennewick. Six years earlier, he and his brother Nathan Quintero were arrested in the killing George Garcia Thacker, 18, in Pasco. Jaden admitted rendering criminal assistance and spent nearly two years in prison. His older brother had a long history of gang violence and is serving a 16-year prison sentence.

His family has said in Facebook posts that Quintero was turning his life around. He was trying to sort through his past trauma and determined to get help.

“The day of Jaden’s passing he had a meeting where he discussed going away to get the help he needed, he had a beautiful son and was on a mission to get better,” his sister, Ma’Leah Serrato said on a The Blue Bridge Project Facebook group post.

All three cases remain open, Kennewick Commander Isaac Merkl and Benton County sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Horacio Gonzalez told the Tri-City Herald.

Kennewick police are continuing to ask about for help to solve Moore’s and and Quintero’s murders. Merkl said any homicide case is challenging and they rely on a combination of factors, including anyone with information coming forward.

“We believe that somebody does have information about these cases,” he said. “Those people need to look inside of themselves and decide if they’re willing to come forward and provide closure for these families. We would encourage that they do.”

Gonzalez said Cortez-Ballardo’s case is moving forward. New information has been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office with the hope that it will lead to an arrest.

Prosecutors have been working with detectives on the case for more than a year, Prosecutor Eric Eisinger said.

Anyone with information in any of the cases can contact the non-emergency dispatch number at 509-628-0333. Kennewick also accepts anonymous tips at www.kpdtips.com.