DNA found on personal belongings
of missing teen Sierra LaMar was the key to an arrest in their
two-and-a-half-month investigation, authorities said in a news
conference today.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's
Department charged Antolin Garcia-Torres, 21, with the murder and
kidnapping of the 15-year-old teen from Morgan Hill, Calif.
Garcia-Torres's DNA was found on
clothing in LaMar's bag recovered shortly after her disappearance,
according to Sheriff Laurie Smith in the press conference. The
forensic evidence helped identify Garcia-Torres as a suspect on March
28. The Sheriff's office then placed him on 24-hour surveillance.
"We had hoped he would lead us
to where Sierra was," says Smith. Garcia-Torres is also the owner of
the red Volkswagen Jetta that authorities seized in connection with the
case on May 8.
LaMar, 15, was last seen on March 16 at her home in Morgan Hill, Calif. getting ready for school, but she never made it there.
The Sheriff's Department does
not have a weapon or know how LaMar was killed, but Smith says
Garcia-Torres is the only suspect now. Her office believes the LaMar
and Garcia-Torres did not know each other, and called the incident
"purely random."
"This was a stranger abduction of a young girl," she says.
Garcia-Torres has not admitted
to any crime or given any information as to where LaMar's body is. He
has also been linked to a physical assault in the Morgan Hill area in
2009, and has a prior conviction of interfering with an officer.
Sierra LaMar's mother, Marlene,
was also at the press conference and says the searches will continue:
"As a mother I've felt hopeful because her body has not been found,"
she says. "And what I've heard that certain things were not found in
the vehicle that gives me hope."
Smith did not comment on what type of DNA was found in the investigation.
Garcia-Torres was taken into custody at a Safeway grocery store in Morgan Hill where he worked Monday evening, according to KTVU-TV.
In-depth details of the LaMar case were broadcast on the series America's Most Wanted on May 11.
The KlaasKids foundation has
also organized weekly searches for LaMar for the past two months. The
foundation assists families of missing children and was created by Marc
Klaas, the father of Polly Klaas who was abducted from her Petaluma,
Calif. home and murdered in 1993.
Here is a timeline of the LaMar case.
March 16 — LaMar last seen in the morning by her mother.
March 17 — LaMar's cell phone and laptop found near the school bus stop about a mile from her home.
March 23 - LaMar's pink Juicy brand bag found with her clothes folded neatly inside.
March 26 — The KlaasKids Foundation organizes large, weekly, volunteer searches for LaMar near Morgan Hill.
March 27 - Authorities issue a statement saying LaMar was likely abducted.
May 7 — A red Volkswagen Jetta with a black hood is identified and had been seen in three different locations near the LaMar home.
May 21 - Authorities arrest and charge Antolin Garcia-Torres in connection with LaMar's disappearance.