Life in prison without parole: Jury rules on killer’s fate in Sierra LaMar’s murder case
Investigators said a strand of Sierra’s hair was found on a rope in Garcia-Torres’ car. (May 9, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)
A man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday for abducting and killing Sierra LaMar, a Northern California teenager who disappeared five years ago and whose remains have never been found.
The sentencing of Antolin Garcia-Torres followed weeks of testimony in the penalty phase of his murder trial. Shortly after the sentence was announced, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen told reporters the jury’s verdict made “it so that he will die in prison and will never take a breath as a free man.”
Garcia-Torres, 26, was found guilty May 9 following the 13-week trial. He was also convicted of trying to kidnap and carjack three south San Francisco Bay area women in 2009 in grocery store parking lots.
“Human justice can hold the guilty accountable but it cannot resurrect the dead,” Rosen said outside the San Jose courthouse. “There is no joy in this verdict, only mourning, in the death of a child who was murdered — a void that will forever ache and that can never be filled. May Sierra’s memory be a blessing for her family and our community.”
Sierra vanished on March 16, 2012, in Morgan Hill, about 30 miles south of San Jose, while on her way to school.
After the cheerleader’s disappearance, authorities scoured the city looking for clues.
Investigators found her cellphone and her purse, with her underwear and San Jose Sharks jersey folded inside.
For years, even though she was presumed to be dead, hundreds of volunteers searched for any signs of the missing 15-year-old.
“While she was your daughter, she has become our daughter,” Rosen told Sierra’s parents as they stood beside him outside the courthouse.
Sierra’s father, Steve LaMar, said he was disappointed with the verdict.
“He’ll be able to live. Sierra won’t,” Steve LaMar said. “He’ll be able to breathe. Sierra doesn’t. He’ll be able to eat every day, see his family. We don’t have that. His family doesn’t grieve. We grieve for the rest of our lives.”
At the news conference, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith implored Garcia-Torres to tell authorities where Sierra’s body is hidden.
“If Garcia-Torres has one ounce of humanity or a shred of humanity in that cold-hearted murderer’s heart, I call on him today to tell us where Sierra is so we can bring her home,” she said.
Garcia-Torres was arrested in May 2012 based on DNA evidence found on clothing in Sierra’s purse and his car, authorities said. Garcia-Torres’ DNA was already on file from a previous assault.
Investigators told jurors Sierra’s hair was found on a rope in his car, the Associated Press reported.
At the time, investigators said they thought Garcia-Torres had randomly picked Sierra to be his victim.
In 2014, Garcia-Torres was indicted by a Santa Clara County grand jury in Sierra’s case.
During the trial, defense attorney Alfonso Lopez argued that Garcia-Torres, who lived seven miles from Sierra, was not responsible for her disappearance, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Garcia-Torres’ attorneys contended that Sierra may have run away.
Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA
UPDATES:
3 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the district attorney, sheriff and Sierra’s father.
This article was originally published at 12:05 p.m.
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