Sierra LaMar Murder Conviction Overturned
A conviction in the 2012 disappearance and murder of Sierra LaMar has been overturned, reopening a high-profile case that has haunted the South Bay community of Morgan Hill for over a decade. The legal basis for the decision has not yet been publicly released.
Antolin Garcia-Torres was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2012 kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Sierra LaMar, who vanished on her way to school in Morgan Hill. A key factor in the case was that LaMar's body has never been found, leading to a "no-body" murder trial that relied heavily on forensic evidence. The prosecution's case against Garcia-Torres was built on DNA evidence. LaMar’s DNA was found in his car, and a strand of her hair was discovered in a rope in his trunk. His DNA was also found on her belongings, which were discovered discarded near her neighborhood shortly after her disappearance. The Sixth Appellate District court overturned the conviction on February 27, 2026, citing insufficient evidence to prove willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder or a specific intent to kill. This decision means that if prosecutors choose to retry the case, they will be barred from using those theories of first-degree murder. A significant legal error cited by the appeals court was the decision to try the murder case at the same time as three unrelated attempted kidnapping charges against Garcia-Torres from 2009. The court found that combining these cases was prejudicial, potentially influencing the jury's view of the murder charge. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is now evaluating its next steps, which could include retrying Garcia-Torres on different legal theories, such as felony murder or second-degree murder. Garcia-Torres, now 34, remains incarcerated while prosecutors decide whether to pursue a new trial.
