Fresno police charge murder suspect with a second killing. This one happened last year

Fresno police have identified a man they believe responsible for a killing in June 2020.

He was already in custody at Fresno County Jail.

Abel Tello, 46, was arrested last week and was being held without bail on murder charges in the Sept. 1 shooting death of 43-year-old Michael Hartley at the Palace Inn motel near Parkway and Belmont avenues. It was the city’s 52 homicide of the year.

On Wednesday, police announced a second murder charge for Tello.

That charge is related to the death of 45-year-old Anthony Romero, who was found inside his apartment last June. He had been dead for several days, according to police, and an autopsy revealed he died from severe trauma to the upper body.

The case was officially ruled a homicide on Dec. 10, 2020.

Homicide Detectives had identified a person of interest who had been the area around the time of the killing, and a video released in February generated several tips that eventually helped identify Tello as the suspect, the police said.

Anyone with information about Romero’s killing is asked to contact the Fresno Police Department or Crime Stoppers.