Norma Lopez
MORENO VALLEY: Trial date set in Norma Lopez killing
By John Asbury
The Riverside Press-Enterprise
A Riverside County judge has set a tentative trial date in September for the man charged with kidnapping and killing 17-year-old Norma Lopez in Moreno Valley.
A jury trial is set to begin Sept. 15 for Jesse Perez Torres, 37, who could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if he’s convicted.
Moreno Valley police arrested Torres in 2011 in Long Beach, more than a year after Norma was kidnapped while walking home from summer school classes at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley.
Detectives linked Torres to the killing through a DNA sample that matched a trace of DNA found on Norma’s earring, which was left in a field where she was abducted.
Norma’s shirtless body was found five days later, beneath a grove of trees in a remote field about three miles away. The death sent chills through the community and prompted parents and students to take greater precaution while walking alone.
A judge ruled there was enough evidence for Torres to stand trial, based on the DNA sample and a surveillance video that showed Torres driving away from the scene in an SUV.
Torres also lived across the street from the high school, and adjacent to the field where Norma was abducted.
In a document written in support of the death penalty for Torres, prosecutors said he had a history of violence toward women in the months before Norma’s death.
Moreno Valley police first arrested Torres in February 2010 on felony spousal abuse and assault charges, but the case was dismissed about seven months later. He was required to submit a DNA sample to the state database, which linked him to Norma’s case.
Police also found two videos inside his Long Beach apartment that showed Torres sexually assaulting two women, one of whom may have been drugged or intoxicated, according to court records.
He has not been charged in either of the Long Beach cases, according to Los Angeles County court records.
Torres’ Riverside County murder case has been delayed because he was assigned new attorneys. He is set to return to court April 4 for a scheduling hearing.
http://blog.pe.com/breaking-news/201...lopez-killing/
Bookmarks