Sierra LaMar case: Convicted killer may get new trial
Appeals court overturns murder conviction in killing of Sierra LaMar
A state appeals court has reversed the conviction of the man found guilty of killing Morgan Hill teenager Sierra LaMar, ruling trial errors unfairly influenced the jury’s first-degree murder verdict.
MORGAN HILL, Calif. - The man convicted in the 2012 kidnapping and killing of Morgan Hill teenager Sierra LaMar may get a new trial following a court ruling filed Friday.
California's Sixth Appellate District Court found that prosecutors improperly consolidated charges from an unrelated 2009 kidnapping case with the 2012 murder case, ruling the move was prejudicial.
"What the court is saying is there was error in the original trial when they allowed these additional charges to come into Mr. Garcia-Torres, and they said that was prejudicial," said legal analyst Steve Clark. "[The additional charges] spilled over to him getting convicted of first-degree murder"
Potential new trial in Sierra LaMar case
Antolin Garcia Torres, has been serving a life sentence without parole for the kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Sierra LaMar, but today the state court of appeals ordered his conviction be reversed.
It is unclear when a new trial might take place.
In a statement Friday evening, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said, "We just received the opinion and are digesting it. However, we will never stop seeking justice for Sierra."
Friday's court ruling does not mean Garcia-Torres will be released from custody.
Prosecutors will now decide whether the case returns to Santa Clara County Superior Court, or whether they will appeal Friday's ruling and take it to the California Supreme Court.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Sierra LaMar case: Antolin Garcia-Torres found guilty of first-degree murder
- Antolin Garcia -Torres sentenced to life in prison for murder of Sierra LaMar
- Remembering Sierra LaMar 5 years after her disappearance
- Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar went missing 5 years ago as murder trial continues
Sierra LaMar case: Potential new trial after conviction overturned
Legal analysis from Michael Cardoza on the potential for a new trial in the case of Sierra LaMar, the 15-year-old who was kidnapped from Morgan Hill and murdered in 2012. Antolin Garcia-Torres was convicted with her killing in 2017.
Disappearance of Sierra LaMar
The backstory:
Sierra LaMar, 15, disappeared in Morgan Hill on March 16, 2012. She has not been seen or heard from since, and her body was never found.
In 2017, Antolin Garcia-Torres, then 26, was convicted of her murder and kidnapping. He was sentenced in December 2017 to life in prison without the possibility of parole and is serving his sentence at California State Prison Corcoran.
Garcia-Torres pleaded not guilty to LaMar’s murder and to the attempted kidnappings of three women in Safeway parking lots in 2009, incidents unrelated to LaMar’s case.
Prosecution’s case
What they're saying:
During the 2017 trial, prosecutors sought to prove Garcia-Torres killed LaMar despite the absence of a body, murder weapon or autopsy.
Prosecutors said LaMar’s DNA, including a strand of hair found on a rope, was discovered inside Garcia-Torres’ car. His DNA was found on clothing belonging to LaMar that was recovered in a field near where she disappeared.
Investigators arrested Garcia-Torres on May 21, 2012, about two months after LaMar went missing, after his DNA was identified on her jeans.
Authorities also found LaMar’s DNA on an interior backseat door handle and on the outside of a pair of work gloves inside Garcia-Torres’ 1998 red Volkswagen Jetta.
Verdict reached in penalty round of Sierra Lamar case
Antolin Garcia-Torres sentance reached in Sierra Lamar case
Defense arguments
During the trial, defense attorneys argued that evidence may have been cross-contaminated during collection, pointing to sloppy techniques by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s crime laboratory.
Garcia-Torres’ thumbprint was also found on a 9-volt Duracell battery inside a stun gun recovered from the car of one of the women who reported an attempted kidnapping and carjacking in 2009.
Defense attorneys argued that Garcia-Torres, who worked as a courtesy clerk at Safeway, could have legitimately handled the battery if the packaging had been opened before it was resold.
Analysis & frustration
What they're saying:
"What the court said was go back and try it again, but you don't, without new evidence, get to try it for first-degree murder, because there's nothing to prove the willful, deliberate and premeditation required for a jury to get to a first-degree murder. So what they'll do is they'll go back and try and get a second-degree murder conviction," said legal analyst Michael Cardoza, who has been following the case.
Victims advocate Marc Klaas, father of Polly Klaas, who supported Sierra's family during the search, reacted with frustration.
"I was completely and totally outraged because all this does, is it takes people in our situation, the families of victims that were treated in the worst possible way before they were murdered and throw us right back into the maelstrom," Klaas said. "It triggers everything. It reminds us. It takes us back to the days when our kids were missing. When we were looking for them. It's a travesty of justice."
The Source: Information in this story came from California's Sixth Appellate District Court, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, analysis from Michael Cardoza, interview with Marc Klaas, and previous KTVU reporting on Sierra LaMar and Antolin Garcia-Torres.