The Morgan Hill man accused of killing 15-year-old cheerleader Sierra LaMar will appear in court for a plea hearing Tuesday morning.
Antolin Garcia Torres, 21, is charged with murder, with a special circumstance of kidnapping in relation to the incident in which authorities have disclosed few details about a possible motive or method.
Garcia Torres will appear at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose at 9:30 a.m. for the plea hearing. He remains in custody without bail.
Sierra has been missing since March 16. Investigators from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s office think she was kidnapped as she was walking from her mother’s home to her usual school bus stop near the intersection of Palm and Dougherty avenues.
Her body has not been found, but investigators have linked the two together with DNA evidence, with the suspect’s DNA found on some of Sierra’s discarded belongings, and her DNA found in Garcia Torres’ red Volkswagen Jetta, authorities said.
Investigators do not think Sierra and Garcia Torres knew each other before her disappearance, or had any friends or acquaintances in common.
Volunteers and police continue to search for Sierra, and for any evidence indicating her whereabouts.
Sierra was a sophomore at Sobrato High School at the time of her disappearance.
