CALIFORNIA — October 26, 2026. SACRAMENTO — California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on October 23 that a total of $300,000 in potential rewards is available in connection with several long-unsolved killings across six counties. The announcement covers cases connected to Daly City, Elk Grove, Fresno, San Diego, Santa Paula and South El Monte. The potential rewards are intended to encourage people with credible information to contact investigating law enforcement agencies.

What it means for residents

The cases include Michelle Matteucci in Daly City, Gurmej Atwal and Surinder Singh in Elk Grove, John Graves in Fresno, Darnell Smith in San Diego, Eduardo Lira in Santa Paula and Estevan Mejia in South El Monte. Families and agencies are seeking information in investigations of deaths occurring in different years; this report does not suggest that any uncharged person committed an offense.

What happens next

The governor’s official announcement lists the relevant local law enforcement contacts for each case and explains that rewards are connected to qualifying information leading to an arrest and conviction. Readers with firsthand knowledge should contact the investigating agency directly. People who only know rumors should not spread unverified accusations or identify private individuals without evidence.

Where to verify

California58’s appropriate county newspapers may link to this statewide report and to the original official notice. Any future update on charges, proceedings or convictions must come from verified records rather than speculation.

Primary source: official agency or original organization. Published by California58.com; future schedules, alerts and legal outcomes may change. See the linked source for current status.

INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM ACROSS CALIFORNIA

Support independent journalism for all Californians

Support reporting, public information and community coverage across California’s 58 counties.

Donate once by card ↗
Support independent California journalism Your contribution helps build and sustain independent community reporting across California.
Support California58

Choose how to support California58:

Credit / Debit Card via Stripe

Choose an amount from $1. One-time support through the publisher's LINKERNO Stripe account.

Continue with PayPal Continue with Zelle

Zelle payments go to Vitaly Ataev Troshin. Please verify the recipient in your bank before sending. Availability depends on your bank.

Optional reader support. Contributions are not advertised as tax-deductible. Support does not influence editorial decisions.
Optional support through the publisher. Contributions are not advertised as tax-deductible and never buy editorial influence.

USEFUL SERVICES

Useful services from our ecosystem

AFFILIATED RESOURCE

Travel smarter worldwide

OptionTrip

AI-powered trip planning for journeys in California and around the world.

Explore OptionTrip →

AFFILIATED RESOURCE

Free tax & property tools

TaxesTime

Free preliminary tax and property tools, including the Property Tax Savings Report.

Explore TaxesTime →

AFFILIATED RESOURCE

California document support

LegalDocSVC

Document preparation support for self-represented Californians. Not a law firm and not legal advice.

Explore LegalDocSVC →

WORK WITH CALIFORNIA58

Have a story, project or partnership idea?

California58 welcomes news tips, interviews, video projects, community partnerships, advertising and other California-focused collaborations.

Work with California58 →

COMMUNITY

Comments

Join the California58 conversation. You must be signed in to comment.