Deceased/Not Found CA - Sierra LaMar, 15, Morgan Hill, 16 March 2012 #17 *A. Garcia-Torres guilty*

[Annie1004]

Maybe this is why the time also changed?

I wish we knew if one of the stations was going to live stream it. :waitasec:

KTVU announced last night that there would be cameras in the courtroom today.

 

[rpgman]

welcome bbmama11 :cheer:

and that was an awesome first post! I hope you keep your good thoughts coming~

WELCOME bbmamma11

 

[KrazyKatLadi]

Sierra's home is the one at the end of the Ct with the pool, correct?

He was driving to work DIRECTLY behind her house? Maybe he saw her out by her pool one day? JMO

 

[bgmiller5]

Have yet to see anything verifying his DNA was in CODIS, and how DNA evidence links him to previous crimes if it was already in CODIS. Anyone have any proof of this?

I do see where relatives say he gave DNA samples to LE after they started questioning him. I hope they obtained this constitutionally and it will not be thrown out in court.

 

[mamamia54]

Wondering what these concrete structures are, they are on Monterey and not very far from Laguna. The one in the center almost looks like someone could go underground, or at least inside it. Do any locals here know if these have been searched?

Also, area shown with pink dot where these structures are located from where the purse was located.

 

[imawitch]

Here are some excellent pictures of the shed from Amanda/Cranky's Photobucket

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Sierra LaMar -CA-/#!cpZZ43QQtppZZ12

I wonder if the matress in the shed was tested for any dna?

do we know?

If this has been discussed forgive me...just playing catch up..

now back to reading

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

Have yet to see anything verifying his DNA was in CODIS, and how DNA evidence links him to previous crimes if it was already in CODIS. Anyone have any proof of this?

I do see where relatives say he gave DNA samples to LE after they started questioning him. I hope they obtained this constitutionally and it will not be thrown out in court.

He was arrested for a felony, I think in 2010, and that got his DNA in the system.

I have zero clue how it works, I'm guessing it has to be searched, and doesn't automatically make hits when entered because I watched a CBS News video that stated that SS asked local police departments in the area to run AGT DNA and see if the had any matches. MHPD came up with a match to the attempted abduction involving the stun gun in a Safeway parking lot.

So I guess each PD keeps their own database, which can then be searched by other PD if needed?

 

[SurfieTX]

Garcia-Torres was already in a DNA database because of an earlier arrest for felony assault, Smith said. He was not prosecuted in the case. Garcia-Torres also has a prior misdemeanor conviction for assaulting a police officer.

Evidence gathered in Sierra's case also linked Garcia-Torres to a March 2009 assault in Morgan Hill. Smith did not reveal specifics of the incident.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/sierra-lamar-case-suspect-faces-murder-charges.html

 

[mck16]

I am afraid that when they find Sierra, there will be others nearby. JMO. This guy moved too swiftly to be a "first-timer." The ONLY thing I have considered that has not been revealed is whether there is any possibility that she purchased marijuana from him. I know it has been stated that it was a "stranger abduction" but assume this is because he denies knowing her, and because there is no record of any interaction between the two on social media. If I was a fifteen year old girl, newish in town, and trying to find a reliable "distributor" I would probably find a "friend of a friend." I might make contact via landline, knowing local calls will not appear on the phone bill. It is not at all unusual for "drug deals" (pot) to be conducted in a moving car. I had a neighbor who often had people pull into his driveway, he would come out with a paper lunch bag, get in the car, and they'd leave. They would be back after a quick trip around the block, and he got out without the sack. So if he picked her up and started driving the wrong way, she might have initially assumed this was what was happening, and that he was going to circle back and leave her at the bus stop. Early on there was some speculation that the "homework" she was meeting a friend about before school could have been a "code word". I am certain LE has spoken to the friend, but I am not sure kids would admit to using illegal drugs if they thought it would get them in trouble (with LE or parents). MOO

Just wondering if we can add drug dealer to his mo. I haven't seen anything mentioning that so this is just a question. jmo

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

I found this...

Q: How does CODIS use those profiles to solve crimes?

Hares: A forensic laboratory receives evidence in a criminal investigation and is asked to perform DNA testing on that evidence. The evidence may be part of a rape case or a homicide. Or maybe there is a murder weapon that contains DNA. The DNA profile obtained from the crime scene evidence is called a forensic unknown. The laboratory doesn’t know whose profile it is, but they know it is associated with the crime. The laboratory enters that profile into CODIS. If it’s a local case, the profile is entered into the local CODIS system and uploaded to the state level. At the state level, the profile will be compared with all the offenders from that state’s database. The forensic unknown may or may not match with other DNA records at the state level. On a weekly basis, the state uploads its DNA records to NDIS, the national level. We search the profile against all 50 states’ offender profiles to see if there is a match; if there is, the CODIS software automatically returns messages in the system to the laboratories involved. The local labs evaluate the matches and release that information to the law enforcement agency. That is how a previously unknown DNA profile is associated with a known offender

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/dna_112311

 

[SmoothOperator]

I'm confused..I thought it was reported that we don't know if the clothes on her bag were the ones she was wearing? Can someone shed some light on this for me? I thought it was speculated that they clothes could have been spare clothes she was taking to school. My daughter is the same age and does this sometimes to wear after PE or if she is going somewhere after school, etc.

correct we don't know what clothes are in the bag, YET.

Below is snipped quote from Sheriff Smith at the PC on 5/22/12

Our investigation has led to the identification of Antolin Garcia-Torres as the person responsible for the kidnap and murder of Sierra LaMar. We developed this through our investigation based on direct and circumstantial evidence, including forensic analysis conducted by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Crime Lab. The discovery of Sierra's cell phone, her clothing, what she wore that day, and her personal belongings have contributed to our belief that -- that Sierra's a victim of murder.

Above sentence BBM for emphasis and portion UNDERLINED for specificity .. I do believe that Sheriff Smith did finally clarify this long standing issue of whether or not the clothes were an extra set, separate from what she had on that morning of 3/16..or were they indeed the clothes that she actually had on that morning..

In the quote above the Sheriff does in fact state that the clothing is what Sierra wore that day(3/16) that was located in her Juicy Couture bag..

 

[KrazyKatLadi]

http://www.zeemaps.com/pub?group=363575

If you take the dirt road by the shed and go north, this old barn is out there. Wonder if it's been searched.

 

[Annie1004]

Up thread, I think Nurse posted a link ?, it said he was working with a contractor in San Jose. Which got me to wondering if he went to work that day. If he did, he would not have had a lot of time to dispose of a body. Others pointed out he would have driven by Sierra's area on his way to work every day.

I recall his mother stating that he did not work that Friday and said he was going fishing.

 

[katydid23]

I do not believe she would have tried to buy pot from this creep. The vast majority of kids buy pot from the 'legal' pot stores these days. Thousands of teens have 'club cards' where they buy ultra strong pot legally, and there is no need to go to scary dealers for pot anymore.

 

[rpgman]

I found this...

Q: How does CODIS use those profiles to solve crimes?

Hares: A forensic laboratory receives evidence in a criminal investigation and is asked to perform DNA testing on that evidence. The evidence may be part of a rape case or a homicide. Or maybe there is a murder weapon that contains DNA. The DNA profile obtained from the crime scene evidence is called a forensic unknown. The laboratory doesn’t know whose profile it is, but they know it is associated with the crime. The laboratory enters that profile into CODIS. If it’s a local case, the profile is entered into the local CODIS system and uploaded to the state level. At the state level, the profile will be compared with all the offenders from that state’s database. The forensic unknown may or may not match with other DNA records at the state level. On a weekly basis, the state uploads its DNA records to NDIS, the national level. We search the profile against all 50 states’ offender profiles to see if there is a match; if there is, the CODIS software automatically returns messages in the system to the laboratories involved. The local labs evaluate the matches and release that information to the law enforcement agency. That is how a previously unknown DNA profile is associated with a known offender

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/dna_112311

so, it's done weekly. (Nationally)

 

[Lera213]

geeze I hope this is correct

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid...l=37.190995,-121.731813&spn=0.000439,0.000431

right click to get street view

hrm he tells mom he is going fishing and places the items on "FISHer Road"

 

[BeginnersLuck]

I watched the Aliahna Lemmon case and they delayed things quite a bit in the beginning of court. When he gave his plea they pretty much put a not guilty plea in for him due to the fact that if he "would" have plead guility right away it could cause problems later in the handling of his case and the conviction. When it came time for the trial to start he took a plea bargain for life instead of the death penalty. The prosecution said this was best so that the community wouldn't have to hear the horrid details.

Now, we will never have answers for what happened and I know the prosecution did what they did to save money.

 

[mck16]

I do not believe she would have tried to buy pot from this creep. The vast majority of kids buy pot from the 'legal' pot stores these days. Thousands of teens have 'club cards' where they buy ultra strong pot legally, and there is no need to go to scary dealers for pot anymore.

Where are there 'legal' pot stores..I have not heard of this. Medicinal pot in California, but not a regular store. interesting. jmo

 

[LisaB]

I read it was 2010, however take it with a grain of salt because every article says something different. I've read he was currently working there, never worked there, worked in the deli, now was a cashier...

I have to add my :twocents: here, FWIW. I once worked in a small butcher shop. I worked in the seafood and deli mainly, and I wrapped meat for customers, but was not trained as a meat cutter per se. One of my coworkers was having a baby and needed a better paying job. She got the boss to teach her butchering so she could get a job at a chain supermarket that was unionized. Meatcutters were getting about $17 an hour and minimum wage was under $4.

It keeps entering my mind that he might have had informal training or even just picked up some tips by watching the butchers work... I am sorry for saying that. I have had people ask me how I learned to cut up a chicken. I never realized this wasn't something everyone can do. It is a matter of cutting at the joints instead of trying to saw through bone. Oh G*d, I am so sorry for mentioning this. Body parts probably won't bloat and float the way a whole body would, since gasses won't be trapped inside. Failing dismemberment, just making cuts deep into the torso would serve to release the gasses as they accumulated.

I read too much. I think too much. I talk too much.

 

[SurfieTX]

http://www.zeemaps.com/pub?group=363575

If you take the dirt road by the shed and go north, this old barn is out there. Wonder if it's been searched.

We have a search thread for Sierra that might answer a lot of your questions (and you can give them ideas). I think Sarx is local to the area and has been on many of the searches.

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