Teen’s Stabbing Reminiscent of Unsolved Slaying of Torrez

The brutal slaying of 16-year-old Mary Irene Lewis, who was found stabbed to death early Tuesday, is reminiscent of the still unsolved Cathy Torrez homicide, which continues to baffle investigators.

The body of Torrez, 20, was discovered in the trunk of her car by Placentia police Feb. 19, 1994, days after her family had reported her missing. Torrez had been stabbed to death.

The Cal State Fullerton honors student was last seen leaving Sav-On Drugs in Placentia, where she had worked for almost four years as a checker. Police discovered the victim a week later in her burgundy Toyota Corolla in the parking lot of a community hospital.

Authorities originally suspected that Torrez had been abducted and stabbed to death by someone she knew. She was neither robbed nor sexually assaulted, and those who knew her insisted she would never stop to pick up a stranger.

A man Torrez had previously dated briefly emerged as a possible suspect, but officials later determined there was not enough evidence to implicate him.

Even with a $35,000 reward that remains available today, Placentia police say they have been unable to crack the case.

Placentia Police Detective Corinne Loomis said there are three factors that lead to solving a case: Physical evidence, a confession that can be corroborated by physical evidence, and witness statements. In the Torrez slaying, police have not developed any of the three.

“We don’t even have a crime scene,” Loomis said. “When we’re reduced to nothing, there’s not a lot of magic we can do here.”

Loomis said there is nothing to indicate a connection between the Torrez and Lewis cases.