Diana Alvarez case: Missing girl's mother sobs as suspect is charged with murder
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A grand jury in south Florida has returned a murder indictment against a suspect in the case of a 9-year-old girl who has been missing for nearly two years, reports CBS affiliate WINK. Jorge Guerrero-Torres was charged Thursday with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and lewd and lascivious molestation of Diana Alvarez, who vanished in 2016.
Her body has not been found.
Guerrero-Torres was found guilty last year of producing and possessing lewd images of Alvarez and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Guerrero-Torres, 30, had rented a room from the girl's mother in the family's San Carlos Park home, according to the News Press. Diana went missing on May 19, 2016. The mother woke up to heat up a bottle for one of her children and realized Diana wasn't there, reports the paper.
Guerrero-Torres reportedly confessed to detectives he had inappropriate contact with the girl while he was living in the home, the paper reports.
Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said he hopes the indictment would help the family begin to heal.
"We know today that we will never bring Diana back, but we also hope we bring some closure to the family," Marceno said.
Rita Hernandez, the girl's mother, sobbed as she addressed reporters.
She said she had held out hope that her daughter was alive, but says she was informed Thursday that prosecutors believe the girl is dead. She said she wasn't made aware the state's attorney's office planned to convene a grand jury, proceedings that are secret.
"I wasn't expecting this news," Hernandez said in Spanish. "But I have to accept the reality."
State's Attorney Amira Fox said her office chose to convene a grand jury because "we would not rest until we saw Torres held responsible for what he did to this little girl."
Hernadez said she has a lot of anger for Guerrero-Torres and thinks he deserves the death penalty. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, reports the News Press.
"If my daughter is not alive, then he doesn't deserve to be alive," Hernandez said.
Her message to Guerrero-Torres: "I hope you rot."