Deceased/Not Found CA - Sierra LaMar, 15, Morgan Hill, 16 March 2012 #17 *A. Garcia-Torres guilty*

[shelarita]

Well, lol, in my riding for over an hour now, this is about the closet picture that would even come close to the position the car would have been in when this picture was taken, and if you go on google earth, then you can rotate the picture to see where about the cam would be taking that one from, and I can't see anything as close to the ground as it would need to be to get this.

And also, I had to mirror the actual picture to get this shot.

Hey, Thats pretty good! What to you see if you 180 from that shot?

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Is there a Safeway near by?[/

Down the hill to the right...less than a minute away.

Thank you...

This homicide does not look like it is Sierra...

But when we thought it just may be.. I was thinking of AGT's pattern of frequenting Safeways in work and assaults.

However....

Slim possibility... but this poor person may just be another of his victims. :what:

 

[bbmama11]

I think what the PP means is that in the link where the car picture came from--there is a series of about 5-6 photos. A couple of those photos are STOCK pictures of a red jetta (you can see--no black hood). About 3 of those pictures say underneat "picture of the ACTUAL jetta the police are seeking information on". Those are the pics w/the black hood. And then there's another photo of the flyer with the guy the public thought we were originally looking for in connection with another attempted abduction case.

(Photo was stamped as 5/25/12 at 12:something. I'm assuming it's when it was downloaded because it's not even 12something here...yet!

 

[wenwe4]

O/T...

Is there a list of acronym anywhere? I'm new and trying to decode them... MOO? BBM? SBM? I figured out some IIRC (If I remember correctly?)

TIA!!!

Here is the link to the WS lingo acronym list . . .

above your questions are: MOO - my opinion only; BBM - bolded by me; SBM - snipped by me, IIRC - if I remember correctly, IMO- in my opinion, etc.

NEW Websleuths Lingo - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

Just to clear up the weather issue, here is one example from Santa Clara County on Feb 22. We actually had several days that were just like this one during the winter, and so far are spring has had some days in the 80's.

2:53 PM 75.9 °F

This info came from wunderground.com

 

[mamamia54]

Hey, Thats pretty good! What to you see if you 180 from that shot?

Well, I was hoping it would show the front of the house across the street but instead it's the side of the home sort of a caddy cornered portion of the home. So, then I thought ok, that shot seems low enough that a camera could have been on the front of possibly a mailbox, but that didn't work out either, so, about the only thing I can think of, is that somewhere between my 2009 or so version of Google Earth, some type of camera has been placed there. I just don't know. Oh, and the trees are different, bushier, but that's something that can change through seasons. Let me get a picture of the 180.

 

[LBrennanVW]

With a black hood, a stock picture??

Sorry, let me clarify. LE put out a photo of a red late-90's Jetta and said they were looking for a similar looking car with a black hood. Someone here at WS photoshopped the LE provided photo to make it have a black hood. Then, because everyone went into a frenzy looking for this car, the next day LE said they already had the car, they just wanted more information and all of a sudden media had 2-3 pictures of the ACTUAL car, not a "similar" car

Right now the photos I'm talking about are on page 7 of the Sierra LaMar photobucket
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Sierra LaMar -CA-/#!cpZZ7QQtppZZ20

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

Well, I was hoping it would show the front of the house across the street but instead it's the side of the home sort of a caddy cornered portion of the home. So, then I thought ok, that shot seems low enough that a camera could have been on the front of possibly a mailbox, but that didn't work out either, so, about the only thing I can think of, is that somewhere between my 2009 or so version of Google Earth, some type of camera has been placed there. I just don't know. Oh, and the trees are different, bushier, but that's something that can change through seasons. Let me get a picture of the 180.

So do you think this shot of the car came from a neighbors camera on her court?

 

[kemo]

From what I can tell, "Touch" DNA was found on Sierra's folded clothing that did not belong to Sierra. It was compared against the California data base of convicted felons and they got a "hit" with Torres, who lived only 7 miles away.

They checked out Torres' car and it was the red Jetta. Reviewing available video's, it was found that Torres' car was "in the area" around the time of the abduction. It is unclear how closely they tie him to the abduction site but the videos shoot down any other alibis. He was definitely "in the area".

A forensic examination of the Jetta turned up "touch" DNA that was "probably" Sierra's. A further study of other sex crimes in the area revealed that Torres could be "100%" linked forensically (we don't have the details) to one assault and is the prime suspect in two others.

That is pretty much the case. Good but not Rock Solid. The big problem is "touch" DNA. It is different from the DNA results were are used to based on blood or semen. It can degrade and give results that are far below the "Billion to one" matches we have come to expect. Sometimes there is real controversy as to whether or not the sample is even a match. You sometimes get "dueling expert witnesses" at trials.

"Touch" DNA is best when you get a "blind hit" with someone who is otherwise a good suspect: ties to the crime scene, history of similar crimes etc. The DNA on Sierra's clothing is compelling evidence if Torres has no other explanation how it got there.

The DNA found in the car is much less solid. Apparently there are fewer "matching points” and there are quite possibly many people in the general population besides Sierra that could have provided that DNA.

The big question is how solid a case does the DA really have? Finding the body would really help. One possibility would be to drop the charges on Sierra go after him for the sexual assault and get a very long prison sentence. That would buy a little time to investigate the case further. Advances in forensics may work in the prosecution's favor.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

That photo was released weeks ago, I'm sure it's just because she captured it today. Date and time would match that.

It is from an article on May 8th. LE were releasing pix of the red Jetta with black hood to see if they could get any more info. from the public.

I wonder, now, if LE was also trying to let the perp know they have him on camera!

 

[mamamia54]

Well, I was hoping it would show the front of the house across the street but instead it's the side of the home sort of a caddy cornered portion of the home. So, then I thought ok, that shot seems low enough that a camera could have been on the front of possibly a mailbox, but that didn't work out either, so, about the only thing I can think of, is that somewhere between my 2009 or so version of Google Earth, some type of camera has been placed there. I just don't know. Oh, and the trees are different, bushier, but that's something that can change through seasons. Let me get a picture of the 180.

This is 180, the trees were possibly cut back recently, or the cam would need to be on something close to the ground to get that other picture.

 

[LisaB]

1/4 mile of that walk is out in the middle of nowhere. No other child waited at bus stop. She was a sitting duck. I don't know of many parents that would allow their beautiful daughter to walk that daily, completely alone. I would not allow my grown daughter or son to do it.

A parent would have to be totally obiivious to the world arond them and must believe the world is a "beautiful place".

Most of us would not have become parents at all if we DIDN'T believe the world is a "beautiful place." Would ANYONE have a child if they EXPECTED him or her to be abused, kidnapped, tortured or killed??

 

[mamamia54]

So do you think this shot of the car came from a neighbors camera on her court?

It's very possible and the place that I'm getting pictures from on Google Earth is almost smack dab in the middle of the road where they say that her scent was lost.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Well, lol, in my riding for over an hour now, this is about the closet picture that would even come close to the position the car would have been in when this picture was taken, and if you go on google earth, then you can rotate the picture to see where about the cam would be taking that one from, and I can't see anything as close to the ground as it would need to be to get this.

And also, I had to mirror the actual picture to get this shot.

After comparing your two pics...
I would think the security camera had to be pretty low in the pic of the Jetta...

Could there be a camera on someone's lawn?

When DH and I were sleuthing a couple weeks ago we looked for security cameras on the houses on her street... and couldn't actually see any (they must be well hidden, at least to us).

However, it looked like there may have been a security camera on a mailbox or two...

Is this a possibility?

We drove by twice, but I was afraid to get out to look more closely and be questioned as a stalker!

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

It's very possible and the place that I'm getting pictures from on Google Earth is almost smack dab in the middle of the road where they say that her scent was lost.

There could be a chance then that they actually have footage of AGT out of the car, Sierra, or even the actual abduction.

That would be great in court, and could explain LE's confidence.

 

[rpgman]

From what I can tell, "Touch" DNA was found on Sierra's folded clothing that did not belong to Sierra. It was compared against the California data base of convicted felons and they got a "hit" with Torres, who lived only 7 miles away.

They checked out Torres' car and it was the red Jetta. Reviewing available video's, it was found that Torres' car was "in the area" around the time of the abduction. It is unclear how closely they tie him to the abduction site but the videos shoot down any other alibis. He was definitely "in the area".

A forensic examination of the Jetta turned up "touch" DNA that was "probably" Sierra's. A further study of other sex crimes in the area revealed that Torres could be "100%" linked forensically (we don't have the details) to one assault and is the prime suspect in two others.

That is pretty much the case. Good but not Rock Solid. The big problem is "touch" DNA. It is different from the DNA results were are used to based on blood or semen. It can degrade and give results that are far below the "Billion to one" matches we have come to expect. Sometimes there is real controversy as to whether or not the sample is even a match. You sometimes get "dueling expert witnesses" at trials.

"Touch" DNA is best when you get a "blind hit" with someone who is otherwise a good suspect: ties to the crime scene, history of similar crimes etc. The DNA on Sierra's clothing is compelling evidence if Torres has no other explanation how it got there.

The DNA found in the car is much less solid. Apparently there are fewer "matching points” and there are quite possibly many people in the general population besides Sierra that could have provided that DNA.

The big question is how solid a case does the DA really have? Finding the body would really help. One possibility would be to drop the charges on Sierra go after him for the sexual assault and get a very long prison sentence. That would buy a little time to investigate the case further. Advances in forensics may work in the prosecution's favor.

that's what I was hoping it WASN'T yesterday, when I posted it might be 'touch DNA' that they have in both places.

 

[Tuliptiptoe]

After comparing your two pics...
I would think the security camera had to be pretty low in the pic of the Jetta...

Could there be a camera on someone's lawn?

When DH and I were sleuthing a couple weeks ago we looked for security cameras on the houses on her street... and couldn't actually see any (they must be well hidden, at least to us).

However, it looked like there may have been a security camera on a mailbox or two...

Is this a possibility?

We drove by twice, but I was afraid to get out to look more closely and be questioned as a stalker!

Our cameras are pointed at points of entry front/back door, side gates etc.

But I could see if someone was having an issue with mail being stolen, or speeding cars they might want one on a mailbox.

 

[mamamia54]

Wish I could give a lat and long to you, um

37"11'08.45"N 121"42"39,69"W

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Sorry, let me clarify. LE put out a photo of a red late-90's Jetta and said they were looking for a similar looking car with a black hood. Someone here at WS photoshopped the LE provided photo to make it have a black hood. Then, because everyone went into a frenzy looking for this car, the next day LE said they already had the car, they just wanted more information and all of a sudden media had 2-3 pictures of the ACTUAL car, not a "similar" car

Right now the photos I'm talking about are on page 7 of the Sierra LaMar photobucket
http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Sierra LaMar -CA-/#!cpZZ7QQtppZZ20

Bingo LBrennanVW!

Those are the pics from the article from early May!

How appropriate that LB VW would find the VW Jetta pix!:rocker:

 

[Odus]

This is 180, the trees were possibly cut back recently, or the cam would need to be on something close to the ground to get that other picture.

Maybe they have a game/wildlife camera mounted to the trunk of one of those trees. :waitasec: