2 arrested in 1993 cold case murder near Hayward of 30-year-old father, including mother of his children
By Carlos E. Castañeda
Authorities arrested two people in the 1993 cold case murder of a 30-year-old father in Alameda County, identifying them as the mother of his two children and her former boyfriend.
Zachary Jackson, a Modesto native, was found shot to death inside his home in unincorporated Hayward on June 17, 1993, by relatives who discovered his body after not hearing from him for several days. At a press conference on Monday in Dublin, Alameda County Sheriff’s Detective Pat Smyth said the case was initially investigated as a possible dispute between Jackson and his landlord. It was also discovered that Jackson had two children – a 4-year-old girl who was in his custody, and a 1-year-old in the mother’s custody – identified as Veronica Fonseca.
“At the time, Miss Fonseca was interviewed several times by our investigators, but there was nothing at the time that led them to believe she had any involvement in this case,” Smythe said. “As you can imagine, in 1993, they did not have a lot of the things we have available to us today, investigatively, to find leads. No electronic footprint like we have these days; they relied heavily on witnesses, fingerprints, that sort of thing. DNA was in its infancy.”
Smythe said that without viable leads or evidence linking to any suspects, the case went cold until 2014, when investigators received a phone call saying Fonseca and Anthony Fox, Fonseca’s boyfriend at the time, were responsible for Jackson’s murder. During the ensuing years, Smythe said investigators encountered what he called “a roadblock” in pursuing the case, and the investigation again was put on hold.
In 2021, Smythe said an anonymous tip left by a citizen again identified Fonseca and Fox as being responsible for the murder and was willing to come forward and go on record. The unidentified impediment in the case remained, however, until the last several months when investigators were able to locate additional cooperative witnesses and present the case to prosecutors, Smyth said.
On Nov. 6, U.S. marshals arrested Fonseca, 54, at her home in Queens, New York. Hours later in Iowa, the Sioux City Police Department arrested Fox, 56, as he walked out of his home, the Sheriff’s Office said. Both were awaiting extradition to California, prosecutors said.
“This case is a good example of what happens when good people have the courage to come forward and tell law enforcement what they know, coupled with law enforcement leveraging all the investigative resources to bear to bring a resolution to this case,” said Smythe.
Smyth and members of the Alameda County District Attorney’s office declined to provide details about the new evidence that finally led to charges against Fonseca and Fox, and would not provide information about the motive, saying they did not want to jeopardize the prosecution.
Both Fonseca and Fox are charged with murder and burglary, with a sentencing enhancement that would add additional prison time for the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Other agencies involved in the case included the FBI field office in Oakland, the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol, and local police in Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York and South Dakota.
