Youth Charged With Murder Ordered Held in Custody

Carlos Alberto Tirado, the 17-year-old Santa Ana youth accused of hacking his former girlfriend to death two years ago, Friday was ordered to remain in custody to await his scheduled trial June 3 for his own protection and because of the nature of the crime.

Orange County Juvenile Court Judge David O. Carter ordered Tirado to remain in custody despite attempts by defense attorneys to prove that Tirado was “not a threat to the community and that the community was not a threat to him.” The judge made his ruling despite testimony from friends and relatives of Tirado who said the youth was not involved with any gang or drug activities.

Tirado is charged with killing Norma Isela Ramirez, a 14-year-old student whose mutilation killing baffled Santa Ana police for nearly two years.

During the hearing, attorneys revealed new information aimed at undermining previous statements made by the victim’s parents that Tirado was jealous because she wanted to date another boy.

This Set the Stage

Both prosecution and defense attorneys said it was Tirado and not Norma Ramirez who was trying to date someone else.

According to Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Middleton, Tirado had sex with Norma in a secluded area the day she was killed--May 27, 1985. Later that afternoon, Tirado asked her to have sex with one of his cousins. She refused, said Middleton, and this set the stage for the violent murder that night.

Outside the courtroom, Middleton told reporters that a friend of Tirado will also testify during the trial that Tirado had told him before the slaying that he “would like to kill her.”

“He had been indicating that he would like to kill Norma Ramirez and punch her in the face,” Middleton said.

During Friday’s hearing Middleton said Tirado repeatedly lied to detectives after the murder about how well he knew Norma Ramirez and his whereabouts on the day she was killed.

Following the hearing, defense attorney Edison W. Miller agreed that Tirado had sex with Norma and had asked her to have sex with his cousin. “He was trying to dump her on somebody else,” Miller said. He added that Tirado wanted to date one of Norma’s friends.

But, Miller said, he will argue that Norma was a troubled school girl, who had a history of getting into fights with other girls and had run away from home before. Miller said he believes Norma may have been killed by a group of girls who were seeking revenge. “Norma used to beat up other girls in school,” Miller said, adding that he will cite proof from school records that the girl had been suspended before for fighting.

Called to Apologize

“She was jealous and aggressive,” Miller said.

Miller said that although Tirado became angry with Norma and told her to walk home alone, he later called to apologize. At the time of the murder, Tirado was sleeping at home, Miller said.

Miller said Tirado lied to police later because he was embarrassed and confused by his actions that day.

Police said they believe that Norma received a phone call at about 10:30 p.m. on the night of her death and was tricked into leaving her Santa Ana home to go meet someone she knew. Her body, mutilated with a hatchet or machete, was discovered five hours later on the Santa Ana River bike trail. The body remained unidentified for three days until investigators saw her picture in a Spanish language newspaper that described her as a missing person.

At a press conference following Tirado’s arrest two weeks ago, the girl’s father, Ruben Ramirez and her uncle, Javier de La Fuente, who owns the Spanish newspaper, El Sol Latino, blamed Tirado for the murder and said the boy was upset because she wanted to date someone else.

J. Michael Hughes, Tirado’s co-counsel, said that the week before the murder, Norma had gotten into a fight with a girl and knocked out some of her teeth.

Hughes also said he was investigating the bludgeoning death of a woman that occurred in Anaheim at around the time of Norma’s death to see if there are any possible links.

Because Tirado was under 16 at the time of the crime, he cannot be tried as an adult, Middleton said. If the murder charge is sustained, he could be held by the California Youth Authority until he turns 25.

Tirado’s sister, Dora, 20, like the 10 to 15 others who attended Friday’s hearing, said she is confident that her brother will be found innocent. “Carlos wanted to go out with other girls,” she said, “and she wouldn’t let him.”