Victim Spoke of Eloping on the Day She Disappeared : Slaying: Cathy Torrez was considering ‘running off’ with boyfriend Sam Lopez, now suspected of stabbing her to death, her sister says.

Cathy Torrez was considering eloping with the man police now say is a suspect in her slaying, according to her sister, Tina Lopez.

Lopez said her sister told her she was thinking of “running off” with Sam Lopez last Feb. 12, the day she disappeared on her way home from work. Torrez, 20, was found stabbed to death a week later. Her body was in the trunk of her car.

“I talked with her on the Wednesday before (she disappeared),” Tina Lopez said. “She kept asking me what she should do. She said Sam wanted to run off and she was thinking of doing it. I told her she should seriously think about what she was doing.”

Torrez began dating Sam Lopez while the two attended Valencia High School, family members said. After he dropped out of school, Torrez told him she wanted to break off their relationship so she could spend time with her school friends, her sister said.

But the two, who lived only doors apart on the same street, continued to see each other over the years, despite dating other people.

He became a cabinetmaker and she was an honors student at Cal State Fullerton, studying sociology.

“She said the crazy thing was that she loved him and kept being drawn back to him,” Tina Lopez said. “But she said she didn’t know if she could trust him to be faithful to her.”

Tina Lopez, 23, who is married to Sam Lopez’s brother, said her sister was hesitant about marrying Sam, 24, because she was uncertain of his fidelity and because she was confused about another boyfriend who was then comatose and hospitalized in serious condition after attempting suicide.

“She said ‘If something happens to (the other boyfriend), I am just going to do it, I’m going to run off with Sam on Saturday,’ ” Tina Lopez said. “She said if I didn’t see her car in the driveway Sunday night, it’s because she eloped.”

Tina Lopez did not know if her sister ever made a decision, because they never talked again.

The boyfriend who was hospitalized remains in a coma, police said.

Placentia Police Chief Manuel Ortega said Monday that police do not have enough evidence to arrest Lopez but are continuing to investigate.

Lopez’s attorney, Roland G. Rubalcava, said police should either charge Lopez or leave him alone.

The announcement by police has brought new anguish to Torrez’s family and the tightly knit community where they live alongside Lopez’s family.

“In some ways it would be a lot easier if (police suspected) a total stranger,” said Mary Bennett, Torrez’s mother. “I want this over with, but I have to think about how it affects my other daughter.”

Tina Lopez, a graduate of Cal State Fullerton who is working toward her teaching credential, also worries about how Monday’s announcement will affect her marriage. But she is adamant that whoever killed the little sister she called “Cat” must not get away with it.

“I’ll do everything in my power to bring justice for Cat’s death,” Tina Lopez said. “Even if it means losing my husband and his family, I still want justice.”