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A judge in Santa Ana dropped charges against a 17-year-old boy accused of the savage mutilation murder of his 15-year-old girlfriend. Carlos Alberto Tirado was arrested May 12 for the slaying of Norma Isela Ramirez, an eighth grade student who was hacked to death on the evening of May 26, 1985. Ramirez’ body was found in Alona Park, and an autopsy disclosed that she been struck repeatedly with a machete or hatchet. Tirado was arrested after a two-year investigation, and the girl’s father told reporters that he believed the boy had killed her because she wanted to date someone else. But Tirado’s lawyer said the girl’s family had been running a “vendetta” against him since her death, and Superior Court Judge Donald McCartin dismissed the charges on grounds of insufficient evidence.