Victim’s Mother Decries Case Dismissal

The mother of a slaying victim expressed frustration and anger Thursday over a decision by the Orange County district attorney’s office to drop murder charges against the two men who were accused of stabbing 16-year-old Troy Gorena to death.

“I feel like this is such an injustice to my son,” said 46-year-old Bobbi Gorena. “I’m enraged inside. All I can do is pray every day that God will get me through this.”

Gorena said she was overjoyed last fall when Kevin Jerome Carlson, 23, and Joseph Luis Garay, 21, were arrested and charged with her son’s March 1996 slaying in Fullerton. The mother of four had worked hard to collect a modest reward of $500 during the six months between the crime and the arrests.

A defense attorney contends it was a desire to collect the reward that led a witness to come forward and fabricate a story. But Gorena said she believes the woman was telling the truth and backed down out of fear for her life.

“I’m not going to let it go,” she said. “My son is not going to be just another number. There’s no one else to fight for him and I’m not going to give up.”

The Gorena family had suffered another tragedy 10 months before Troy’s death when his 41-year-old father, Fred Gorena, died of a brain aneurysm. The family then lost its Fullerton home due to financial difficulties and moved to Perris.

“I have to face this alone and my kids are devastated,” Gorena said. “They’ve lost so much. [Whoever killed Troy] didn’t just murder my son, they murdered our whole family. Every day I die a little more inside. It’s just been an awful thing.”

Defense attorney Robert M. Hartmann said he does not believe police made enough effort to check out the validity of the witness’ story.

“The police should definitely be out there looking for someone,” said Hartmann, who represented Carlson in court on behalf of Hartmann’s law partner, Tammy Miller.

Fullerton Police Chief Patrick E. McKinley said this week that he believes the right suspects were arrested and charged and that if investigators further solidify their case in the future, they will refile the murder charges.

Despite her bitter disappointment, Bobbi Gorena said she does not blame law enforcement authorities.

“I know they’ve tried and they’ve done everything they can,” she said. “They never gave up on it and kept going until there was just nowhere else to go.”