On this date, March 16, 2012, 15-year-old Sierra LaMar, went missing in California.
We, the comrades of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, will make her one of The
82 murdered children of Unit 1012, where we will not forget her every year
on March 16 and October 19. Let us remember how she lived and not how she died.
We will always support her family members.
We want to thank those good people who showed support to Sierra’s family
by helping them search for her. We will not forget her.
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Sierra LaMar (October
19, 1996 to March 16, 2012)
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INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-charged-sierra-lamar-murder-face-death-da-article-1.1798588
California man charged in murder of Sierra LaMar to face death: district attorney
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced their decision against Antolin Garcia-Torres on Monday. He's charged in the 2012 abduction and murder of the 15-year-old, as well as the attempted kidnapping of three others in 2009.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, May 19, 2014, 8:25
PM
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Sierra LaMar (October
19, 1996 to March 16, 2012)
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://findsierralamar.com/photos]
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Prosecutors say they will seek the
death penalty against a California man charged with kidnapping and murdering a
15-year-old, whose body has not been found.
The Santa Clara County District
Attorney's Office announced their decision Monday against Antolin
Garcia-Torres, who's charged in the abduction of Sierra LaMar in 2012.
"Given the facts of
this case and after a comprehensive review by a committee of senior
prosecutors, I have concluded that this defendant should face the ultimate
penalty,"
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a release.
"He took her away from
us,"
Sierra's father, Steve LaMar, reacted to the DA’s decision to NBC Bay Area. "She isn't here to enjoy her life. We agree he should
receive the ultimate punishment."
Garcia-Torres, a former grocery store
clerk, is additionally charged in attempting to kidnap three women during
attempted carjackings in 2009.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges
filed against him in February.
The district attorney declined to
provide further comment on the case, not wanting to affect the upcoming trial.
Sierra
vanished on the morning of March 16, 2012, while walking to her school bus stop
near Morgan Hill, Calif.
Authorities
said in 2012 that Sierra's DNA was found in Garcia-Torres' Volkswagen Jetta.
Despite it being now more than two
years since she was last seen, her family and surrounding community haven't
given up hope, with a Sierra LaMar Search Fund actively working to bring her
home.
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Antolin-Garcia-TorresSanta-Clara-County-DA-Seeks-Death-Penalty-in-Sierra-Lamar-Case-259814671.html
DA Seeks Death Penalty in Sierra LaMar Case
ByLisa Fernandez and Marianne Favro
Prosecutors
will seek the death penalty against Antolin Garcia-Torres, the man charged with
kidnapping and murdering teenager Sierra LaMar, the Santa Clara County District
Attorney announced Monday. Marianne Favro reports. (Published Monday, May 19,
2014)
Updated at
3:55 AM PDT on Tuesday, May 20, 2014
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Sierra LaMar (October
19, 1996 to March 16, 2012)
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Prosecutors
will seek the death penalty against Antolin Garcia-Torres, the man charged with
kidnapping and murdering teenager Sierra LaMar, the Santa Clara County District
Attorney announced Monday
Images From the Sierra LaMar Case
"He
took her away from us," Sierra's father, Steve LaMar told NBC Bay Area,
acknowledging that the decision could add more years to the legal drama.
"She isn't here to enjoy her life. We agree he should receive the ultimate
punishment."
Torres'
alternate defender, David Epps, told NBC Bay Area in an email that he and
co-counsel, Al Lopez, are "extremely disappointed" Rosen is seeking
the death penalty, saying that the "circumstances of the case and the
criminal record" of their client don't appear to rise the level of capital
punishment.
"As
everyone is aware, there are serious issues with the administration of the
death penalty not only here in California but around the nation," Epps
wrote. " Since 1973, 112 death row inmates have been exonerated. We
have always viewed this as a missing person case not a homicide.”
Rosen
sent a letter to Santa Clara County Presiding Judge Thang N. Barrett
(PDF) on Monday informing him of his decision - the first time his office has
sought capital punishment since being elected in 2010.
"Given
the facts of this case and after a comprehensive review...I have concluded that
this defendant should face the ultimate penalty," Rosen said in a
statement. Rosen declined to say more, adding that he did not want to taint the
jury pool.
Sierra
was last seen at her bus stop in Morgan Hill on March 16, 2012. Her abduction
deeply affected the Bay Area, especially because the 15-year-old girl's body
has never been found. Volunteers continue to search for her remains, even two
years after her disappearance and assumed death.
Her
father told NBC Bay Area in March that it's been an extremely
"frustrating" two years, both in terms of not knowing what
happened to his daughter, and because the court process has taken so long.
Garcia-Torres,
a one-time grocery clerk, pleaded not guilty in February 2014. He was formally indicted by a criminal grand
jury that week of three counts of attempted kidnapping and carjacking for three
separate crimes in 2009 outside South Bay supermarkets, as well as the Sierra's
murder and kidnap.
The
last time a Santa Clara County jury decided to put a man to death was in 2010.
In fact, there were two cases that year. Juries found that both Rodrigo
Paniagua Jr. should be sentenced to death for stabbing his pregnant girlfriend
and young daughters, before setting him on fire. A jury also decided to execute
Melvin Forte in that same year for kidnapping, raping and murdering a
23-year-old German woman, Ines Sailer.
Before
that, a Santa Clara County jury hadn't come back with a positive death
penalty since 1997.
Legal
Analyst Steven Clark said the DA's decision to seek the death penalty against
Garcia-Torres means it could now be years before the case goes to trial.
“I
am surprised by the DA's decision,” Clark said. “There is no body and no
evidence of trauma or a crime scene.”
For
his part, LaMar said he is aware he and his family will have to wait even
longer now, but he says he still feels it is important to pursue the death
penalty for the man accused of murdering his daughter.
Published at
9:40 AM PDT on May 19, 2014
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Sierra-LaMar-Father-Not-Knowing-What-Happened-is-Most-Frustrating-After-2-Years-250397231.html
Sierra LaMar's Father: "Not Knowing What Happened" Is Most Frustrating After 2 Years
ByRiya Bhattacharjee and Marianne Favro
Two years
after Morgan Hill teenager Sierra LaMar was last seen near the bus stop near
her home, the search to find her continues. (Published Friday, Mar 14, 2014)
Updated at
6:36 AM PDT on Monday, Mar 17, 2014
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Sierra LaMar (October
19, 1996 to March 16, 2012)
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Two
years after Morgan Hill teenager Sierra LaMar was last seen near the bus stop
near her home, the search to find her continues.
Friends,
family and even strangers have volunteered – and continue to volunteer – their
time to bring Sierra home, hopeful that she is still alive. But it hasn’t been
easy, especially for the LaMars.
Sierra’s
father Steve LaMar, spoke with NBC Bay Area about his daughter and how the
family is holding up two years after the disappearance.
“I
am doing OK, it’s tough, especially at this time. It’s been very frustrating
two years – we haven’t really found anything with the searches but we are still
doing that,” Steve LaMar said.
LaMar
described the length of the court process as “frustrating.”
“We
were warned of that but it’s still frustrating,” he said, adding that the
district attorney’s office had warned the family that high-profile murder cases
could drag on for years.
Twenty-two-year-old
former supermarket employee Antolin Garcia-Torres was charged with Sierra’s
kidnapping and murder and is currently in Santa Clara Jail. Garcia-Torres pleaded not guilty in February.
But
the toughest part for the LaMars has probably been missing Sierra, and still
not having any answers, LaMar said.
“Knowing
that someone does know [what happened to Sierra] kind of makes it more
frustrating,” he said.
Birthdays
and family celebrations have been especially tough, LaMar said. Even though it
has been two years since the disappearance, things have not gotten easier.
LaMar
described his daughter as a fun loving, well-loved teenager with a big heart.
“She’s
kinda goofy around her friends,” he said. "We’d joke around with her –
she’d make fun of my quirks and music and I’d make fun of her quirks and
music.”
LaMar
said he and Sierra would often go watch animated movies like “Toy Story”
together at the theater. “Because that’s what we both liked,” he said.
When
the family receives news that investigators have received new tips on the case
– recently divers reportedly searched a South Bay lake for evidence in
the case – LaMar described the feeling as both “nervous and positive.”
“It’s
still priority for the sheriff’s department and they are still doing that, so
that’s positive,” he said.
“But, yeah, any time something like that happens it
makes me a little nervous. We don’t want them to find anything, really.”
LaMar
said part of him really wants to believe that Sierra was kidnapped and is still
alive.
“I
am sticking with that until something happens.”
When
asked whether he has any doubt that Garcia-Torres was involved, LaMar said, “he
definitely knows something.”
“I
think I’ll leave it at that and let the courts proceed,” he said. “I have faith
and confidence in it even though it’s frustrating. I still have faith and
confidence that we’ll have some answers and some justice in all this.”
LaMar
said that the family has never gone to court to see Garcia-Torres during his
preliminary appearances. “It’s a personal decision – I’ve talked about it with
my family and pretty much all of us are not inclined to go until it’s necessary
or basically until when the trial begins.”
When
asked whether he had a message for Garcia-Torres, LaMar said “No.”
His
message to the public: “Just keep hoping and help us to search for her.”
A
dedicated group of about 25 volunteers still meets on Saturdays to search for Sierra in the
Morgan Hill area.
Published at
3:34 PM PDT on Mar 14, 2014
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Friendsto-Dedicate-Memorial-Bench-Honoring-Missing-Teen-Sierra-Lamar-250420051.html
Friends to Dedicate Memorial Bench Honoring Missing Teen Sierra LaMar
ByJEFF BURBANK BAY CITY NEWS
Updated
at 11:55 PM PDT on Friday, Mar 14, 2014
A new bench honoring
Morgan Hill teenager Sierra LaMar will be dedicated at a school she once
attended in Fremont on Sunday to mark the two-year anniversary of her
disappearance.
The circular bench
wraps around a tree on the campus of Washington High School in Fremont, where
Sierra spent her freshman and part of her sophomore years before moving to
Morgan Hill, said Nittra Foreman, whose daughter was a close friend of
Sierra's.
Sierra LaMar Investigator Hopes Suspect "Finds God"
Friends of 15-year-old Sierra, who vanished
outside her home near Morgan Hill on March 16, 2012, wanted to dedicate the
bench at Washington in her memory because it would have been her last year of
high school, Foreman said.
"That's why it's
appropriate to do it this year, it's for her senior class," Foreman said.
Sierra LaMar's Father: "Not Knowing What Happened" is Most Frustrating After 2 Years
Nancee Reck, who was Sierra's attendance
clerk at Washington and supervised her while a yard duty supervisor at Parkmont
Elementary School in Fremont, said she still fights back emotions when thinking
about her.
"I'm going to
cry..." Reck said. "She was a lovely little girl, a little spitfire.
She was just a tiny little thing, but her personality overshadowed her size.
Just a lovely little girl."
The ceremony dedicating
the five-corner bench for Sierra is to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday in the center of
the high school campus at 38442 Fremont Boulevard.
Golden State Lumber
of Newark donated the materials for the bench and Fremont-based Malpede
Construction paid to build it, Foreman said.
A plaque that Foreman
donated to be placed on the bench includes an inviting message that makes
reference to Washington's school mascot, the Huskies.
"Sit here with
me quietly, you'll never be alone. We wait to see your smile again, and have
our Husky Home," the plaque reads.
The rest of the
inscription reads, "Dedicated to Sierra LaMar and the memory of all
missing children. 3-16-14."
Though Sierra is
believed dead by police and prosecutors, volunteers have conducted more than
500 searches for her body in Morgan Hill and elsewhere in southern Santa Clara
County since 2012 and some still meet to search for her each Saturday.
Antolin
Garcia-Torres, 22, a former Morgan Hill resident, has been in the Santa Clara
County Main Jail since his arrest in her kidnapping and murder on May 21, 2012.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges this past Feb. 13.
Prosecutors in the
case believe that as Sierra walked to catch a bus for school, Garcia-Torres
killed her after luring her into his red VW Jetta car, where sheriff's deputies
claimed to have located evidence of the girl's DNA.
Foreman's daughter
Channah was good friends with Sierra, who had attended Channah's March 10
birthday and signed her birthday card less than a week before Sierra
disappeared, Foreman said.
The day Sierra was
last seen was a Friday, and she was supposed to arrive later in the day for
another of many overnight stays with Channah at the Foreman house, she said.
When Sierra did not
come home from school, the girl's mother Marlene called Foreman at work to ask
if Sierra was at Foreman's home in Fremont, she said.
"I said, 'I'm
pretty sure she is not there -- I think you should call 911,'" Foreman
said she replied.
Foreman then got into
a car and drove to her Fremont home to see for herself that Sierra was not
there with Channah, she said.
"She was really
cheerful," Foreman said of Sierra. "I really liked her. She always
wanted to learn, a kind who always asked questions, very outgoing. Others may
think she was shy, but I don't think so."
Roger Nelson, a
Gilroy resident who is a volunteer coordinator at the Sierra Search Center, the
headquarters for search efforts in Morgan Hill, said he was going through a
"range of emotions" leading up to the two-year anniversary.
"Everyone of us
wants to bring Sierra home to her family, to bring closure to her family,"
Nelson said.
The frustration
volunteers felt with the legal system throughout 2012 and 2013, waiting for
Garcia-Torres to enter a plea after many delays, largely subsided after the
defendant was indicted by a grand jury and made his plea last month, Nelson
said.
"We have an
exceptional group of volunteers who put up with ticks, poison oak,
rattlesnakes" during searches for the girl, Nelson said. "I think
people are very committed."
Published
at 7:04 PM PDT on Mar 14, 2014
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Sierra LaMar (October
19, 1996 to March 16, 2012)
[PHOTO SOURCE: http://findsierralamar.com/photos]
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