Sierra LaMar had a full life ahead of her when she disappeared from her north Morgan Hill home at the age of 15, and her family says that’s why her alleged killer deserves the death penalty.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced May 19 that his office will seek the death penalty for Antolin Garcia Torres, 22, of Morgan Hill, who is in custody on charges that he kidnapped and murdered Sierra March 16, 2012.
Sierra’s father, Steve LaMar of Fremont, said the decision to seek the death penalty was ultimately Rosen’s, but the D.A. sought input from the victim’s family.
“We met as a family and decided that would be what we would want to see, for the obvious reasons of seeing him take away our family member, and he’s deprived her of her life and destroyed the lives of the family who wanted to see her live her life and grow up,” Steve LaMar said. “The ultimate penalty is what we wanted to see.”
Garcia Torres pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in February. He is also accused of three unrelated attempted carjackings and assaults in 2009 at two Safeway grocery stores in Morgan Hill. He pleaded not guilty to those charges as well. His next hearing is scheduled for May 23 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
Sierra’s cousin Keith LaMar added, “The ultimate justice would be to have Sierra back at home with all of us. That obviously hasn’t happened, so this is sort of the alternative.”
If convicted of the murder charge—which includes an enhancement for kidnapping—Garcia Torres would be eligible for life in prison without parole or the death penalty, Rosen said in a May 19 letter to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thang N. Barrett.
“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,” Rosen said in a written statement. “Now, we will go forward with the prosecution of all four crimes against the defendant. Upon a guilty verdict for kidnapping and murdering Sierra LaMar, there is an additional hearing for the jury to decide if the death penalty is the appropriate punishment.”
Sierra was a sophomore at Sobrato High School when she vanished from her north Morgan Hill neighborhood. She was kidnapped while walking to her school bus stop near the intersection of Palm and Dougherty avenues the morning of March 16, 2012, according to investigators.
Garcia Torres was arrested by Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies May 21, 2012 for his alleged involvement in Sierra’s disappearance. Sheriff Laurie Smith said at the time that Sierra’s DNA was found in his red Volkswagen Jetta, and his DNA was found on Sierra’s recovered belongings.
Investigators and dozens of volunteers who continue to search for Sierra’s remains have not found any significant trace of her whereabouts.
But Marc Klaas, founder of the KlaasKids Foundation which advocates for the families of missing children, said the threat of death might compel Garcia Torres to reveal more about Sierra’s fate.
“This killer is finally in a place where he can contemplate the consequences of his actions, because of what he’s facing,” Klaas said. “I would hope that he would come to the D.A. and try to make a deal, for Sierra’s remains in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. It’s the hidden power of the death penalty. They don’t want to die, and they’ll do anything to hold onto their miserable lives.”
Klaas added “it’s about time” that the D.A. is seeking the death penalty for Garcia Torres. “I think this demonstrates the sluggish pace of criminal justice in this crime,” added Klaas, whose foundation coordinated volunteer search efforts in the early days of Sierra’s disappearance. “I’m outraged the LaMar family had to wait this long to get to this point.”
Rosen added he will not comment further on the decision to seek the death penalty in order to “ensure the defendant receives a fair trial.”
The Garcia Torres case marks the first time that Rosen has sought the death penalty for a criminal suspect since he was elected D.A. in 2010.
In 2010, before Rosen’s election, the D.A.’s office requested and gained the death penalty following jury trials for two convicted murderers in unrelated cases. Melvin Forte was convicted of killing a 23-year-old woman in East San Jose more than 30 years ago. Rodrigo Ortiz Paniagua killed his pregnant girlfriend and two daughters in 2005. Both killers remain in custody on death row, according to authorities.
Up to 40 or so volunteers continue to meet in Morgan Hill every Saturday morning to search for Sierra or any evidence of her whereabouts. For more information about the search efforts, which are based at the former site of Central High School at 17960 Monterey Road, go to findsierralamar.com.
