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Newsom Offers $50,000 Rewards in About 30 California Cold-Case Killings

Officials are betting that cash for verifiable tips will draw out witnesses in stalled cases.

Overview

  • Gov. Gavin Newsom's office, on Friday, announced $50,000 rewards for information in roughly 30 unsolved homicides spanning San Diego, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Butte County, and Sacramento.
  • The offers run through California's Rewards for Unsolved Cases program, which pays only when a tip leads to an arrest and a conviction.
  • Case lists released by local agencies name victims such as Teresa Madrigal in San Diego, Georgia Moses in Petaluma, and a Hillsborough police officer ambushed in 2025, with direct phone lines for investigators.
  • Separate from the state effort, Oceanside police with ATF and San Diego County Crime Stoppers raised the reward in the 2016 killing of Brandon Keiser to $25,000 this week.
  • Officials cite a December payout to tipsters in the 1982 Vacaville murder of De Anna Lynn Johnson that led to a 2025 conviction as evidence that rewards can produce actionable leads.