Deceased/Not Found CA - Sierra LaMar, 15, Morgan Hill, 16 March 2012 #22 *A. Garcia-Torres guilty*

[Puggle]

Nice to finally see the wheels rolling....

Have to say I am disappointed in the way the evidence was handled....

Some of us have been emotionally connected to this case for a very long time.... not so the Jury .... and that sort of thing will weigh on their minds (doubts)...

 

[Niner]

Got a Google Alert this morning - posting this before I read the thread, so don't know if this has been posted....

from the Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/02/sierra-lamar-evidence-handling-scrutinized-in-court/

Sierra LaMar: Evidence handling scrutinized

But Lopez got Randall to acknowledge that the time stamp on some photographs indeed indicated that mere seconds had gone by between each picture.
Lopez also pointed to a bug and a dirty boot or sneaker print that showed up in more than one photograph. Randall called the footprint a “smudge.” And he said he didn’t remove the bug, which appeared in the same spot on two photos taken six minutes apart, because he thought it was a hornet.
“I’m deathly afraid of hornets,” he testified.
[....]
On Thursday afternoon, prosecutors Boyd and Dana Veazey put some of Sierra’s friends on the stand.
[....]
For instance, after Karissa Pugh, 19, reluctantly acknowledged under cross-examination by Lopez that Sierra might have planned to go to a party with her other friends, the defense lawyer asked whether Sierra would have had plans to take drugs with them. Boyd objected, demanded a sidebar with Zecher, after which Lopez withdrew the question.

 

[Puggle]

Got a Google Alert this morning - posting this before I read the thread, so don't know if this has been posted....

from the Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/02/sierra-lamar-evidence-handling-scrutinized-in-court/

Sierra LaMar: Evidence handling scrutinized

But Lopez got Randall to acknowledge that the time stamp on some photographs indeed indicated that mere seconds had gone by between each picture.
Lopez also pointed to a bug and a dirty boot or sneaker print that showed up in more than one photograph. Randall called the footprint a “smudge.” And he said he didn’t remove the bug, which appeared in the same spot on two photos taken six minutes apart, because he thought it was a hornet.
“I’m deathly afraid of hornets,” he testified.
[....]
On Thursday afternoon, prosecutors Boyd and Dana Veazey put some of Sierra’s friends on the stand.
[....]
For instance, after Karissa Pugh, 19, reluctantly acknowledged under cross-examination by Lopez that Sierra might have planned to go to a party with her other friends, the defense lawyer asked whether Sierra would have had plans to take drugs with them. Boyd objected, demanded a sidebar with Zecher, after which Lopez withdrew the question.

Yep this is what I was talking about .... the post above yours.

This is not good ...... slopey work ... and it's not standing up to a sniff test ... especially on a capital murder case ...... very dissapointing.

 

[SurfCity]

Got a Google Alert this morning - posting this before I read the thread, so don't know if this has been posted....

from the Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/02/sierra-lamar-evidence-handling-scrutinized-in-court/

Sierra LaMar: Evidence handling scrutinized

But Lopez got Randall to acknowledge that the time stamp on some photographs indeed indicated that mere seconds had gone by between each picture.
Lopez also pointed to a bug and a dirty boot or sneaker print that showed up in more than one photograph. Randall called the footprint a “smudge.” And he said he didn’t remove the bug, which appeared in the same spot on two photos taken six minutes apart, because he thought it was a hornet.
“I’m deathly afraid of hornets,” he testified.
[....]
On Thursday afternoon, prosecutors Boyd and Dana Veazey put some of Sierra’s friends on the stand.
[....]
For instance, after Karissa Pugh, 19, reluctantly acknowledged under cross-examination by Lopez that Sierra might have planned to go to a party with her other friends, the defense lawyer asked whether Sierra would have had plans to take drugs with them. Boyd objected, demanded a sidebar with Zecher, after which Lopez withdrew the question.

It does sound like sloppy lab work. It still doesn't explain how AGT's dna was found. At that time AGT wasn't a suspect so where did it come from? Cross contamination from where? The tissue that he used and thew out his window magically flew into the bag and mixed with the clothes? :thinking:

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

It does sound like sloppy lab work. It still doesn't explain how AGT's dna was found. At that time AGT wasn't a suspect so where did it come from? Cross contamination from where? The tissue that he used and thew out his window magically flew into the bag and mixed with the clothes? :thinking:

Being a capital case, this is a little scary. We know what happened in several other high-profile cases where a guilty person walked.

I have updated the trial section of the case archive, will add more today as time allows.
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/cr...e for Sierra - TRIAL and beyond?sort=2&page=1

Since it cannot be organized in any order, sometimes this might be a better option to see "latest" additions. This also shows other cases I'm updating.

http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/profile/

 

[Leader6518]

It was all contents of the bag he was photographing. If cross contamination happed, it had already happed prior to even finding the bag. Was it testified that he also had items from the trunk at the same time? If not, the point is moot.

 

[SurfCity]

It was all contents of the bag he was photographing. If cross contamination happed, it had already happed prior to even finding the bag. Was it testified that he also had items from the trunk at the same time? If not, the point is moot.

Exactly. He wasn't even a suspect at that point. They got the dna off from either the bag or the contents. With that dna they ran a check thru the dna database and matched with 12 people one being AGT. Just because they did a sloppy job doesn't mean that the evidence wasn't accurate.

 

[Emi]

The defense is trying to blame the prosecution, I am hoping this won't affect the jury

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Got a Google Alert this morning - posting this before I read the thread, so don't know if this has been posted....

from the Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/02/sierra-lamar-evidence-handling-scrutinized-in-court/

Sierra LaMar: Evidence handling scrutinized

But Lopez got Randall to acknowledge that the time stamp on some photographs indeed indicated that mere seconds had gone by between each picture.
Lopez also pointed to a bug and a dirty boot or sneaker print that showed up in more than one photograph. Randall called the footprint a “smudge.” And he said he didn’t remove the bug, which appeared in the same spot on two photos taken six minutes apart, because he thought it was a hornet.
“I’m deathly afraid of hornets,” he testified.
[....]
On Thursday afternoon, prosecutors Boyd and Dana Veazey put some of Sierra’s friends on the stand.
[....]
For instance, after Karissa Pugh, 19, reluctantly acknowledged under cross-examination by Lopez that Sierra might have planned to go to a party with her other friends, the defense lawyer asked whether Sierra would have had plans to take drugs with them. Boyd objected, demanded a sidebar with Zecher, after which Lopez withdrew the question.

I know a defense attorney has a job to do but its almost intolerable for me when they use underhanded tactics trying to smear the voiceless victim who is unable to speak for themselves. He knew beforehand he would have to withdraw his question but he also knows you cant un-ring a bell either. Imo, some defense attorneys, not all, are nothing but slime. He is trying to make the jury believe Sierra was a druggie and a bad person which infuriates me to no end. Yeah, she probably smoked pot, but so what? It seems like many teens do the same thing. Perhaps his intended motive is to get the jury to believe that Sierra even if murdered has very little value.

No matter how much they claim the evidence was mishandled it does not explain away why AGTs DNA was there along with Sierra's in the first place. I am sure the jury is very mindful of that. Rarely are there collective jurors like was seen in the CA or OJ cases. Most all juries who sit on cases all across our nation get it right time and time again. Most actually have the capabilities to link all of the CE together. This jury is not going to dismiss that his DNA was found on Sierra's clothing and I dont believe for one second they will believe LE planted it either. So even if the defense goes with mishandling his DNA is there. It is what it is and its not going to magically go away.

The defense strategy of Sierra being a runaway is unreasonable and totally illogical especially when her clothing was found soaked in her own urine. That shows she was either so terrified before he murdered her that she wet her clothing or her urine released once she was no longer alive and before he stripped her naked.

 

[YESorNO]

Recounting last interactions, Sierra Lamar’s friends testify

"Sierra LaMar remains frozen in time. She was a smiling 15-year-old with her head cocked to one side and her tongue out in the last selfie she took on the last day she was heard from.

But now, nearly five years later, Sierra’s teenage friends have grown into young women as the trial in her alleged murder begins. On Thursday, they took the witness stand, crying as prosecutors showed them the last selfie and remembering the bubbly cheerleader who vanished, her body never found...

The prosecution and defense had more than nostalgia on the agenda as they questioned Sierra’s old friends. Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Boyd asked the women about Sierra’s hobbies like cheerleading, listening to music, and actively using Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, aiming to paint the portrait of a well-adjusted teen who wouldn’t just vanish out of the blue.

Defense attorney Alfonso Lopez, however, pressed as to whether the women knew of Sierra being unhappy in Morgan Hill or attending rowdy house parties in Morgan Hill or Fremont. He emphasized the fact the friends who testified only spent time with Sierra at school to suggest she might have led a fast nightlife that they hadn’t taken part in. The type of life that could have led to her disappearance. But none of her friends remembered her on the stand as a partier..."

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article...s-of-Sierra-10904759.php?cmpid=twitter-tablet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Migmuu]

I know a defense attorney has a job to do but its almost intolerable for me when they use underhanded tactics trying to smear the voiceless victim who is unable to speak for themselves. He knew beforehand he would have to withdraw his question but he also knows you cant un-ring a bell either. Imo, some defense attorneys, not all, are nothing but slime. He is trying to make the jury believe Sierra was a druggie and a bad person which infuriates me to no end. Yeah, she probably smoked pot, but so what? It seems like many teens do the same thing. Perhaps his intended motive is to get the jury to believe that Sierra even if murdered has very little value.

No matter how much they claim the evidence was mishandled it does not explain away why AGTs DNA was there along with Sierra's in the first place. I am sure the jury is very mindful of that. Rarely are there collective jurors like was seen in the CA or OJ cases. Most all juries who sit on cases all across our nation get it right time and time again. Most actually have the capabilities to link all of the CE together. This jury is not going to dismiss that his DNA was found on Sierra's clothing and I dont believe for one second they will believe LE planted it either. So even if the defense goes with mishandling his DNA is there. It is what it is and its not going to magically go away.

The defense strategy of Sierra being a runaway is unreasonable and totally illogical especially when her clothing was found soaked in her own urine. That shows she was either so terrified before he murdered her that she wet her clothing or her urine released once she was no longer alive and before he stripped her naked.

I don't know how the defense can spin the urine-soaked clothing & scattered belongings (which included her inhaler and bra) into a runaway scenario unless they're going to argue that Sierra perpetrated some Gone Girl-type scheme.

Also, did they seriously cite Sierra's alleged pot smoking as a sign of her being a delinquent? You know who else smokes pot? Me, very regularly. Along with tens of millions of other Americans. I hope the jury is smart enough to see through that stupidity.

 

[MK_MMJ]

Anyone have an idea on how long the trial will last?

 

[Emi]

Anyone have an idea on how long the trial will last?

Through either April or May

 

[krkrjx]

Defense hopes that the jury will assume that if investigators did a few things carelessly there is reason to believe they do everything carelessly.

And as far as the tissue that was used by AGT and thrown out the car window in the area where other evidence was found containing his DNA, yes, he claimed from the beginning that that tissue must have just landed there, on her clothing, in her bag, on its own.

If I were a juror that would say a lot more about the evidence than the defense pointing toward sloppy detective work does.

But that's me, and I'm not there on that jury having to decide anything in this case. I hope they don't have a panel of morons. It's almost unheard of to have every person on a jury be obtuse but think about it...we've seen it before. Sadly, if they can be broken, a killer could be set free and in the case of this particular killer that would pave the way for consequences that society will have to pay. IOW he will kill again at his first opportunity.

 

[charlie7]

I've just had a thought ... With AGT claiming that his DNA came from a tissue that he threw that just so happened to land with Sierra's clothing, does anybody know if the investigators actually even found a tissue amongst her clothing?? I haven't seen anyone mention that a tissue was found, just that her clothes, bag etc were found and a tissue was the excuse AGT gave for his DNA possibly being found on the clothes ... I know it's probably insignificant in the grand scheme of things but now I've thought about it, I'm intrigued [emoji848]


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[Niner]

I've just had a thought ... With AGT claiming that his DNA came from a tissue that he threw that just so happened to land with Sierra's clothing, does anybody know if the investigators actually even found a tissue amongst her clothing?? I haven't seen anyone mention that a tissue was found, just that her clothes, bag etc were found and a tissue was the excuse AGT gave for his DNA possibly being found on the clothes ... I know it's probably insignificant in the grand scheme of things but now I've thought about it, I'm intrigued [emoji848]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great questions Charlie!! And :welcome6: to Websleuths and this thread!

:greetings:

 

[ragstomorerags]

Hi all!

My first post here. I read almost all the posts here about JA the murderess' trial, and I was motivated to join. I would thank everyone there for their insight, trying to figure out the motivation and movements of the murderess, but the thread is "dead" as it should be, as that individual is as good as "dead" except for those in PV prison who have to handle it. So, moving on...

I see the same insightful posters here and others too, and I am looking forward to following this trial too. I am not making any assessments about this crime until I read more from the trial and posters here, except that the defendant seems very, very shady and that the most abhorrent thing about these trials, to me, is the victim bashing, and the level it sinks to. Sure a victim MAY put themselves in harm's way, but that has absolutely nothing to do with another person going to the absolute limit and killing them. It is a dilemma to me that this tactic is used to such an extent to prove the innocence of the accused. The evidence these days will usually show, if it is strong enough, that that person is guilty. Which has nothing to do with the victim's private life outside of possibly what led them to be in the particular place at the particular time they were to encounter their murderer.

Looking forward to checking in, in a few hours!

 

[Puggle]

I've just had a thought ... With AGT claiming that his DNA came from a tissue that he threw that just so happened to land with Sierra's clothing, does anybody know if the investigators actually even found a tissue amongst her clothing?? I haven't seen anyone mention that a tissue was found, just that her clothes, bag etc were found and a tissue was the excuse AGT gave for his DNA possibly being found on the clothes ... I know it's probably insignificant in the grand scheme of things but now I've thought about it, I'm intrigued [emoji848]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There has been no mention of a tissue being taken into evidence that I have seen .... so far.

The thing that raises a few questions for me is the cat food found in his boot.

They said he liked to feed the homeless cats... it will remain to be seen...

But... Im wondering if he had been at the shed on previous occasions to fed the strays and left his DNA there.... causing transfer dna......

similarly had he gone to the shed sometime that day and picked up Sierra’s dna...and that would account for her dna in his car ??

This is the problem for me...... I need it clear cut and solid...

Hopefully they have some solid evidence with the video of his car....with timestamps.

 

[Bravo]

Hi all!

My first post here. I read almost all the posts here about JA the murderess' trial, and I was motivated to join. I would thank everyone there for their insight, trying to figure out the motivation and movements of the murderess, but the thread is "dead" as it should be, as that individual is as good as "dead" except for those in PV prison who have to handle it. So, moving on...

I see the same insightful posters here and others too, and I am looking forward to following this trial too. I am not making any assessments about this crime until I read more from the trial and posters here, except that the defendant seems very, very shady and that the most abhorrent thing about these trials, to me, is the victim bashing, and the level it sinks to. Sure a victim MAY put themselves in harm's way, but that has absolutely nothing to do with another person going to the absolute limit and killing them. It is a dilemma to me that this tactic is used to such an extent to prove the innocence of the accused. The evidence these days will usually show, if it is strong enough, that that person is guilty. Which has nothing to do with the victim's private life outside of possibly what led them to be in the particular place at the particular time they were to encounter their murderer.

Looking forward to checking in, in a few hours!

:wagon:

 

[Emi]

The latest minute order from Thursday