Crime & Safety

Motive, Other Questions Surround LaMar Murder Suspect

A look at remaining questions in the alleged murder of Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar.

Updated: 6:18 p.m., Tuesday, May 21. 

Sheriff's personnel arrested Antolin Garcia-Torres, 21, on charges of kidnapping and murdering Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar, Monday, after surveying the suspect for more than a month. 

Although detectives believe Garcia-Torres is the suspect they've been seeking for over more than two months, many questions remain regarding how he murdered Sierra and if the teen's actually dead.

Find out what's happening in Los Gatoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Patch has attempted to answer some of these questions below. 

Questions that Remain:

Find out what's happening in Los Gatoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

How do authorities know Sierra is dead? Although Sierra is believed to be dead, authorities declined to release specific details about how the murder may have happened. They do not have a weapon associated with her murder, and wouldn’t comment on whether evidence was uncovered in Garcia-Torres’ home, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said. 

Was there a motive? A motive has not yet been determined.

“We don’t know that,” Smith said. “It was a stranger abduction—they didn’t know each other beforehand.”

Does Garcia-Torres have an alibi? 

Garcia-Torres has not disclosed whether he has an alibi, Smith said. The suspect has remained mum throughout interviews, making it difficult for authorities to test for an alibi, she said.  

Was there blood? 

Blood has apparently not been located, although detectives aren’t commenting on the possibility of blood or any details surrounding that question. 

What's Garcia-Torres' bail set at and has the suspect lawyered-up? 

Authorities would not comment on whether Garcia-Torres' has a lawyer. He is currently being held without bail at the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose, according to Sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza.

What are the next steps: 

Garcia-Torres will be arraigned on felony charges of kidnapping and murdering Sierra at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, May 24 at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, although the location may be changed to the Hall of Justice in San Jose, Cardoza states. 

For complete coverage of the Sierra LaMar case, refer to the Sierra LaMar Disappearance: Comprehensive Updates and Information page on Gilroy Patch.

For more news about Los Gatos and surrounding areas, follow us on TwitterInstagram and "like" us on Facebook. Get Patch in your inbox Want to blog for us? Click here.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.