Grand Jury Transcripts Released In Sierra LaMar Case, Details DNA Evidence Found By Investigators
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- More than two years after Sierra LaMar went missing, court documents were released showing what investigators said they discovered -- evidence that may link the suspect to the Morgan Hill teenager.
On Friday, the court in Santa Clara County released a 1,900 page grand jury transcript to the San Jose Mercury News.
"They believe she was tied up, bound, dragged, placed in the trunk. This was not an innocent encounter," attorney and legal expert Steve Clark told KPIX 5.
Clark has seen the newly-released documents and he said murder suspect Antolin Garcia-Torres left behind quite a bit of evidence. Garcia-Torres also revealed some details to investigators before they even brought them up.
"The fact that Sierra Lamar's hair was found on a rope inside of Garcia-Torres' trunk, there is no innocent explanation for that," Clark said.
Besides her hair on a rope, police said they also found dirt on Sierra's clothes indicating she was might have been dragged. Also, Garcia-Torres' DNA was found on LaMar's pants.
According to the grand jury testimony, Garcia-Torres tried to explain the evidence.
"But he volunteered that information before anyone ever brought up [the topic of] sperm to him, or before anyone said that that was found," Clark said. "That's very damaging, why he would try to immediately initiate that kind of a conversation. [It's] very peculiar, and I think it will prove to be very damaging."
Despite repeated searches, 15-year old Sierra LaMar has never been found. While that will be a major challenge for prosecutors, Clark says they appear to have a solid case.
"Is it going to be a death case? Hard to say without a body but the DA did show us a lot of their cards," Clark said.
The Mercury News sued the court for the release of the documents, despite opposition from Garcia-Torres' attorneys.
Garcia-Torres has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murder charges.
