Sierra LaMar's Killer Learns Fate: Jury Reaches Sentencing Verdict

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA -- A jury spared the life of the man found guilty of murdering missing teen Sierra LaMar, instead sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Antolin Garcia-Torres, 26, was convicted last month of the 15-year-old's first-degree murder and the attempted kidnappings of three women in 2009.

Judge Vanessa Zecher read the verdict Monday afternoon at San Jose's Hall of Justice, following about eight cumulative hours of penalty phase deliberations beginning last week.

The penalty phase of the trial began May 16, a week after Garcia-Torres was found guilty of the missing teen's murder on March 16, 2012.

Sierra's father held his face in his hands, shaking his head in court after Zecher read the verdict.

"I would be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed in the verdict," Steve LaMar, said outside the courthouse. "He'll be able to live. Sierra won't. He'll be able to breathe. Sierra doesn't."

Sierra's mother, Marlene LaMar, said she was relieved that Garcia-Torres would die in prison.

"I feel at peace that he will not be on the streets and harm another child," Marlene LaMar said.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Garcia-Torres as his defense attorneys presented sympathetic evidence about the abuse, poverty and neglect his family endured as he grew up in order to sway jurors to give him a life sentence.

Garcia-Torres' father, an alcoholic who sexually abused a female relative from age 5 to 14 while Garcia-Torres was growing up, is serving a life sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison.

"Yes, it is a day of justice and accountability, but no, Sierra is not coming home," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.

"Human justice can hold the guilty accountable, but it cannot resurrect the dead," Rosen said.

Sierra's body has not been found since she missed her bus to Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill on March 16, 2012.

"There are lifelong consequences following evil actions, and he can make it right by being honest with himself, his family, our family and with God," Marlene LaMar said.

Outside the courthouse, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith called on Garcia-Torres to reveal the location of Sierra's body.

"If Garcia-Torres has one ounce of humanity or a shred of humanity in that cold-hearted murderer's heart, I call on him today to tell us where Sierra is so we can bring her home," Smith said.

Hundreds of community members searched for Sierra following her disappearance. Some attended almost every day of the trial and have continued search efforts in the South Bay.

"Sierra was your daughter," Rosen said, turning toward Steve and Marlene LaMar outside the courthouse.

"But in the days and weeks following her going missing, hundreds and hundreds of people from our community spent weeks and months searching for her remains," Rosen said. "While she was your daughter, she has become our daughter."

Defense attorneys in the case may seek a retrial after Santa Clara County sheriff's Sgt. Herman Leon, an investigator who testified in the case, was found to have given false testimony in another murder trial.

Attorneys will reconvene for a status hearing on July 21 to go over issues related to a possible retrial. Garcia-Torres' official sentencing is set for Sept. 14.

Also see:

• Sierra LaMar Trial: Prosecutor Urges Jury To Avenge Girl's Suffering
• New Trial In Sierra LaMar Murder Case May Be Sought, Defense Attorneys Say
• Sierra LaMar Murder: Jury Convicts Antolin Garcia-Torres In Death Of 15-Year-Old

By Bay City News Service

Images via Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office