High School Girl Kidnapped on Her Way to the Bus: The Case of Sierra LaMar
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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to true crime with candle ray. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm so happy to have you and if you are new than welcome.

So guys, before we get into today's case, I do have an exciting announcement. I am finally launching some numerous I know it's been a minute, but I am very excited about these new items. They are very full.

They're giving cozy and there's something in there that i've never done before. So i'm really excited to tell you about that. But what i'm most excited about is from now on a percentage on all merch sales across all of our different how media will go to the higher hope foundation.

So it's a very easy way to support our foundation while also treating yourself and supporting my show, of course. So if you are interested in picking up any of that is all available at candle ray dot shop. But into today's case, working to be talking about sia lamar, now her case is solved.

However, it's been twelve years and her remains have never been recovered, and so her family has never been able to lay her to rest after they and their community have spent tireless hours searching for her throughout all of those years. And i've seen IT reported that between police searches, rescue crews and volunteers just going on searching for her, over fifty thousand hours have been spent looking a, which is actually eclipsed to about five and a half years. And still, to this day, nothing has been found, which is just so heartbreaking to think about.

The community of Morgan hill, california has never forgotten about herds. Really amazing how all come together. And I hope that you see after I tell you how amazing sea was, why is so important that we continue to talk about her until her remains are found and SHE can be laid to rest properly? So without, let's go ahead and get into the case.

So sia male lama was born on october ninety six in fremont, california, to her parents, marleen and Steve. And he also had one older sister named Danielle. And if you're tuning into this episode, the day goes live over the day after you probably have realized that her birthday is just around the corner.

And SHE would actually be twenty eight years old if he was still alive today, october nineteen. Team should be a day that he would be spending with loved ones. But instead, it's a day that they will, again, be morning, her loss.

And let me just tell you, losing sea has been a major loss from what I know about her. Just from learning about her, the way she's described this year was a small but mighty type of girl who really, above all, wanted to make other people laugh. SHE was that type of person who was always looking for how to bring joy out of other people.

SHE was incredibly goofy. I loved looking back at some of her old pictures and videos. And really, at any given moment, IT seemed like SHE would be doing something to get a laugh out of whoever he was with.

SHE also loves social media and technology in general, and really was a true teenager in the early twenty ten era. SHE love recording these little silly videos of herself and her friends on a laptop, which is something that I did. I know so many of you probably did that as well.

It's very related, able, very like I said, twenty tens era SHE just seemed like such a fun, easy going person and it's all those qualities about her made her so easy to love. And growing up in for me on SHE had no problem making friends and was definitely a very well liked percent among her peers. In her freshman year of high school, SHE had joined a chair, living squad and all things considered, just generally really happy.

The friendships that he had in free mind, you can tell you, just treasured so deeply. And I mean, being of teenager, your friends, your friendships are everything. And SHE had some really great friends. And I bring all this because SHE ended up having to move away from that, which, as you can imagine, was very, very difficult for her.

And the reason he had to move is because in october of two thousand eleven, a judge actually ruled that sa had delivered time with her mom and her mom was planning on leaving freeman and moving thirty five miles away to Morgan hill. Now obviously that's not a huge move. And think about distance at that age, leave behind all these great friendships.

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Obviously, you guys are probably wondering, why did a judge order that he lived with her mom? And i'll warn you, you ahead of time, this is disturbing. But IT turns out that there is dad.

Steve was caught acting inappropriately with one or more of her friends during sleep over, and he did not being arrested, thankfully, in charged for what he had done in marleen. Serious mom didn't wants to stay with him after that of the two of them got divorced, which is win, and why a judge ruled that sir had to move with her mom. And I was just Sierra that was ordered to move with her mom because he was only fifteen at the time and her sisters four years older.

So you know, SHE wasn't ordered to move as well. So just a and her mom and obviously was a huge transition. So in october two thousand, SHE and her mom made that move from three mom to Morgan hill, california.

And I was only about a forty five minute drive away. But like I said, for a teenager, this was a drastic change. And he was really bumped about IT SHE having a really hard time adJusting to the move and also adJusting to being at a new school.

I mean, that can be really, really hard. So now she's a soft Moore in high school and had to essentially start over when they came to her friendships in that life that he had once known. And i'm sure so many of you out there can relate to that. You know, moving at any age in your childhood, especially in the high school years, I feel like me really difficult. Or in the middle middle school or the dole of high school, middle elementary, even making that move can be really difficult.

Um I had changed schools as a kid too and I know that is just, you know it's it's a lot at that age, a lot to get used to and really just rebuild your life kind of yeah can be really hard and and I really feel for her going through that. I will say that he seemed to be a very teenage ious person and like I I mentioned, he was very funny and very likeable. So he was able to make some new friends or was like starting to build new friendships and had also joined the cheer squad at new school.

So that was helpful as well. But overall, SHE wasn't thrilled about the move to free month, and this was no secret to her friends and family. But given everything that her mom had been through, I completely understand wanting to have a new start in three month.

And IT wasn't just because he wanted a new start, also started a new relationship with a man named rookie. And the two of them had gotten to the point where they wanted to live together. So that was also part the reason for the move.

So Morgan hill was supposed to really be a fresh start for the two of them. Sadly, Morgan hill is where there is. Life was senselessly taken.

And that brings us to the morning of march sixteen, the twenty twelve, as marleen was getting ready for work, SHE walked into her daughter's bedroom to make sure that he was awake and getting ready. school. IT was rider on six A M. IT was a completely Normal days.

There was up and was about to start getting dressed for school, and marlin gave her five dollars for a lunch, told her SHE loved her, and said to her goody's not knowing that this would be the last time SHE ever saw her daughter, which just tears my heart up. Thinking about that, he left her work that day and assumed that year was going to catch the bus and go to school like Normal. Her high school and cabot o high school was not that far way, was actually only about and minister on the road.

But fear typically wrote the bus because her mom and Ricky off left for her work before they could drive her. And her bus up was pretty convenient. IT was less than a half a mile from her house, and he always picked up at seven twenty five A M.

So in order to get there on time, SHE Normally left her house around seven ten A M, which is what believe he did that day at sixty seven. Marlyn had texted era to ask her to wipe down the tub before SHE left her school. And then SHE sent her another text asking if SHE was meeting up with a friend after school. However, SHE, we never ended up getting a response from her, although we do think SHE received these messages and just did not reply, because we also know that at seven eleven A M. SHE had texted another friend, which of course, it's pretty common for teenagers to not respond to their parents.

I mean, I still at thirty one, still sometimes don't respond to my parents as quickly as I probably should without text to her friend at seven eleven is super important because it's actually the last known contact that there are had with ly anyone, and is also important because IT tells us that he was planning to go to school that day. In this text message, SHE was responding to her friend who had asked her to bring the stuff, which the stuff was, just homework and make up. So, pretty typical teenage text messaging.

I guess the two of them, we're gonna like compare notes when I came their homework and then also share some make up. But they never got that opportunity, because sea never made IT to school that day. In fact, he never even made IT onto the bus later that afternoon at three forty five p when marleen got off of work, SHE called her daughter, like SHE always did, to check in after the school day.

And SHE actually didn't answer the phone. And after SHE didn't panic her anything, SHE figured, you know, she's probably busy doing something, probably with a friend and dining and look at her phone. But then he tried calling her seven more times.

In the next hour, from three forty five to four forty five, all of those calls went unanswered. And that's when he started too seriously worry. And that worry turned into genuine fear when he got home and realized that sa wasn't there and SHE didn't no idea where he was, motherly instincts this point, telling her that something was seriously wrong.

But he tried to, you know, calm herself down a little bit, try to see if he could locate her on her own before jumping to conclusions. So first, SHE, of course, went to her high school, thinking that maybe her daughter had just stayed behind with some friends, but SHE didn't see any sign of her there. Next, SHE called her ex husband to see if maybe Sarah had gone to three month to see him, but he let her know that he wasn't there either.

And then in about six P. M, SHE got an email from the school. And that's when he learned something that made, realized that her original instincts were right.

SHE learned from the school that day that sara had never made IT to any of her classes, and so SHE decided to call all of her friends one last time. See if SHE happened, be with any of them, and SHE wasn't. So at that point he went to, had, and called nine one one.

And of course, is completely panic by this point, as any parent should be. And he starts begging them to issue an Amber alert. And this whole part really confuses me.

I've worked on several cases where Amber alerts were not issued, and I always have trouble figuring out exactly why. I know there are certain qualifications that have to be met, and that was the case here. Apparently, sir didn't meet the qualifications.

Foreign mbr lor, which I just don't understand. I could just go on and on about that, but I did not see any reporting as to what qualification SHE didn't specifically meet why they win issue in umbrella, which is incredibly frustrating. That being said, though, luckily, the sand clear county charise office did jump right into action.

That evening, an officer was dispatched to marlies house, and by that point, Steve had driven up from freemen as well because he equally concerned about their daughter. And together they answered the officer's questions. And at first, i'm sure this once surprise you.

We hear about this all the time. The officer thought that sara had run away. And I understand why IT is very common for teenagers to run away. That does happen quite a bit.

So I I see why they have to go through this process of asking questions about their personal life, that they have any fights going on where they upset. Is there any reason they wanna to be home, things like that, to determine if there would be a reason they would possibly want to run away? Now luckily, in this case, they didn't hang on that there and make IT their main theory, because we've heard of way too many cases where they have done that.

And then things were minister, things weren't prioritized or the case was treated neglected because they were assumed to be a run away. That is not the case here. But like we know, sir was not happy living in Morgan hill.

In fact, he did mention to some of her friends at several different points that he was considering moving away, or at least wanted to move away. What who knows if he was saying that in a more you sarcastic, emotional way, if you actually had any plans? But that is absolutely not what happened here.

And luckily, detectives did look at her case with a critical eye and take IT very seriously. So they started their and and of course, everyone is hoping that maybe he did run away and that she's OK and we'll quickly be able to locate her. So the plan was to look for evidence to make sure that there was no file play, but very quickly the evidence showed otherwise that there was, in fact, fl.

Play involved in this case. Beginning on the morning of march seventeen, the officers began canvas the immediate areas surrounding serious house, and detectives were working to establish a timeline. And here's what they were able to put together based on marleen statement.

Sir was awake and in the house around six A M when he left for work. After this, they determine that he had post on social media around six thirty A M, and then tested that friend at seven am. And just as a reminder, that text was about meeting up with this friend at school that day.

So he planned to go and just never made IT. And then after this text, her communication would be outside world, as far as we know, just completely shut off now to try and figure out where he may have gone. The officers that were chemises the area tried to find surveilLance cameras.

But the thing is, and this is crucial to the case, this bus stop was located at the intersection of two very rural roads, palm e endure the avenue, modern hill. And specifically where sir was living has. A lot of vast open fields and farmland and orchard.

And actually, it's really what the area is known for. And while it's beautiful, IT means that there were no cameras even remotely near where he walked to the bus. But at a complete loss because IT turns out that C.

R. School bus was equipped with security cameras. And when they looked at those, well, they saw nothing. And for as frustrating and scary as that was, IT actually told them a lot because I told them, but SHE never got on the bus, which helped them establish a window of time, or they think SHE disappeared. And that window was a fourteen minute span between seven eleven A M.

When he sent that final text and seven twenty five am, the showed up and he did not get on now, since there were no cameras in the area, the next best thing that law enforcement could do was continue to canvas the area as well as look into her last known movements. And luckily, because there was such a big social, a person, she'd actually posted shelf e that morning. And so I gave investigating a rough idea of what he was wearing that day.

And IT wasn't much, but they could tell that he had on a black sweater t with a partial logo, which they quickly identify the logo as the sand hoa sharks hockey teams logo. And that ended up being incredibly helpful, which I will explain why later on. And in the meantime, while invest are just starting their investigation and fired all of those details, the local media jumped right on to spreading the word about sera, which is fantastic.

You don't always see that. You don't often see that most of the time when IT comes to disapearance ces. So it's great that they were getting the word out and the community was hearing about IT very quickly. And IT wasn't long before a massive surge was kicked off on saturday, march seventeen th, less than twenty four hours after he had been reported missing. More than three hundred people were already out looking for her, or for any sign of her, really, they were really focused on the grassy fields that surrounded her house.

And on that day and every day that followed people from Morgan hill and all over the bay area as well came together in an effort to try and find a and a local elementary school even set up a search center where a volunteers would gather to share information and talk about where to look next. And starting on the seventeen th, the police started looking into sex offenders in the area, and unfortunately, turns out there were a lot. The thing is, though, each and every one of them had a solid idea that law enforcement was able to confirm.

And i'm sure a lot of you are wondering about there, as dad and he actually told police about his history right away, I mean, he knew that they were going to look into their entire families, that they are going to find out anyway. And he wanted them to hear IT from him, and they were able to clear him. I mean, when they first found out about his history, they were definitely shocked and concerned.

But yes, they were able to clear hammett quick. And there was something else that came up that shocked them even more. And that was, see her cell phone. Her phone was actually discovered less than twenty four hours after SHE went missing. And the circumstances of them finding IT are pretty strange on the night that year was reported missing.

So literally just the night before, that first deputy who arrived to speak with the family tried calling series from multiple times, but every time he called IT went right to voice mm until about three forty eight A M on the seventeen th, when IT didn't go, voice mell, meaning that now IT was turned on and that they would be able to track the cell tower that IT was pining off of, which was huge. And while they were looking into the data, they saw that her phone had turned on and off several times. Now IT was only ever on for a few seconds, but I was just long enough that they were able to get an approximation for IT.

And later that day, with the help of search teams, they located her samsung galaxy phone, which had been lying on the wet ground. And basically what was happening is because water had seeped into the phone and into the battery itself, which i'm sure many of you have spilled water on your phone or emerged IT into water, and have experienced IT turning on and off the screen, blinking, you know, the mike going and out, things like that. But IT basically tricked the phone into thinking that I was charged.

And so IT would turn on for just a second, just long enough for them to get that paying. And then that was IT. So he was never actually turned on by anybody. IT had been laying there on the White .

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Potential savings will vary not available in all states or situations. But the other really important element to note here is where the phone was found. IT was only a few blocks away from her bus stop, meaning that whoever took her had digits her phone pretty much immediately.

So of course, the phone was sent off to the crime pretty much right away. And while I was being processed, the search continued. And another huge discovery was made a day later, on sunday, the eighteen, a search crew was looking in this area that is sort of like a barn structure out in been field.

And they ended up finding seras juicy atr bag lodge between some cake die. And inside her bag, they found neily folded clothing, including a pair of genes and the black, and has a shark sweat cher that they knew he was wearing on the morning. SHE disappeared because of that self.

I they also found a bra, a pair of underwear, a sock, her shoes and some of her school paperwork. And this is just a horribly sad detail. But they also noted that her gene smelled of urine.

And i'm pretty sure we can all figure out why. But of course, all of these things were immediately sent in for a forensic testing. And even though IT took a little bit of time to get the results back, the weight was worth IT for one they found like in on series clothing.

Now, like in is an L. G IT. Grows on rocks and in the soil. And while that might sound like a pretty minor sort of strange discovery, that actually had the ability of being really helpful because they brought a botnet who explained that type of log that like in only grows in certain areas.

So the hope is that maybe they could track down ciera based on where this like, and grows. And then another discovery that they made when they found her belongings were these little glass beds that were found embedded into her genes. And these little glass beat matched the reflective beats that you would buy on the road, like the lane markings or the markings that separate a bike path, for instance, which indicated that sir have likely been dragged by her, a doctor.

And then lastly, the biggest and most important discovery that they made was foregate DNA found on series genes and foreign, meaning IT is not series DNA. So of course, they're in IT through cota, and they found not only one match but twelve potential matches. Luckily, though, a cotis administrator was very quickly able to take a closer look and eliminate eleven out of those twelve potential matches and determine that that DNA belongs to just one person.

And on march twenty eighth twenty twelve, twenty one year old antone Garcia tourists was identified as the contributor to the DNA, which, mind you, was determined, Simon, and based on phone records and other factors that proved they didn't know each other, IT LED investigators to the strong belief that he was the man responsible for her disappearance, because had they known each other, there might have been a reason for his DNA to beyond her. I mean, really is just a formality, because obviously there is no fucking reason what so ever that a twenty one year old males D N A should beyond a, especially Simon should be on D A fifteen year old girl period point blink. But this just proved without a doubt that his DNA being on her meant he was responsible.

Now from the public public perspective, this information was not released. This discovery was kept private to law enforcement, which totally makes sense. That is often done, and it's because they don't want the suspect to know that they're on to them and have good evidence against them.

And of course, at this point there also IT was a possibility that sir could have been a alive and being held captive. They definitely didn't want to spoke him at all. And so instead they were hoping that he would lead them to her.

And starting on the twenty eighth, they did twenty four hour surveilLance on him. They literally followed his every move while this phone put a track on his car. Even had two officers go undercover and move into a trailer, a Jason, into the trailer that he had been living in with his girlfriend and their child.

If sir was alive, they strongly believe that at some point he, he would need to get to her, but he never did. And at no point during the next six days that they were watching him, twenty four, seven, did anteon do anything that brought them any closer to finding sia. However, during that time, they didn't finding more evidence that suggested he could be involved in her disappearance, which is pretty obvious at this point, right? But IT turns out that the R.

V. Park that he lived in had a single security camera, which recorded cars entering an exciting the area, and there is only one way to get in and out. So IT recorded any possible comings and goings.

And when they looked at IT from the morning of march sixteen th, they saw anton's red bulk swagger jada leave in the R. V. park. Here's the thing though, at first he looks like he didn't leave that morning until eight am and we know that it's believed at least that sir was abducted between seven eleven and seven twenty five A M, meaning that he couldn't have been responsible. So of course, that was confusing to everyone at first.

Then they realized that the cameras hadn't been adjusted for daylight savings yet, which means he left at seven A M in the R V park where he lived, just so happened to be ten minutes away from series bus stop. The security footage also also showed that he didn't return home until right before one P M, giving him about six hours where he was unaccounted for. And because of this, and because antone had never let investigators to her over that six days of constant surveilLance, they decided that I was finally time to speak to him.

So on April forth, two detectives show up at his R. V. And let me tell you, this guy is one cocky son of a bitch, because they start talking him very casually, asking if he was aware that there was amazing girl in the area.

And his response was, I would like you to get to the point, fucking asshole. And then, of course, they ask him if he knew who sir was. And he responded saying, I doubt IT why.

And for as arrogant of a responses, this says IT, was the perfect response because IT was now separating him from the victim. If he is saying that he doesn't know her, that means that there is no reasonable explanation why his DNA should have been on her genes. So three days later, on the th, they decided to bring him in for questioning, and they also obtained a search work for his car and his house.

And I will get into those results here in a bit. But while he was in questioning, england provided a description of what he did back on march sixteen th, which included leaving his house around seven, ten thousand and twenty H A M going fishing alone, followed by a trip to the bank. Now we know that they object his time of departure, which was actually seven A M but because he said he went fishing alone, that obviously can't be CoOperated, he did.

However, no shock here says something incredibly stupid, which was that on his drive to the reservoir, he missed his turn and had taken a different route. And what road do you think? He said he was on palm, which is the road that serious bus stop was located on.

So this idiot literally placed himself on the exact road that he was abducted on around the same time. And they were able to figure out that he would have been around the same time based on how long IT would have taken for him to get there from his home. So just unbelievably done.

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And that's not all all because the sergeant who is questioning him then asks him if there is any reason that his DNA would be on any of serious belongings. And let me be clear, he said DNA, that was that there was no mention of simmon or spun or anything like that. And his response was asking if sperm could be a source for DNA.

Much do, obviously. And then this freak goes into this incredibly bizarre story about how he master bates in his car and then uses tissues to clean himself up. And then his nadia says that he sometimes throw these tissues out of his car window. So if there was any sperm found on her IT was probably because of that.

Which what what are you talking about? First of all, I just can't get over the fact that he says all of this before sperm or Simon is even mentioned, but you're telling me that your nasty sperm soap tissue that you throw out of your window somehow floated and found its way all the way to this field and got itself onto serious genes. okay? Makes total sense, right, especially because her jeans were found inside of her back.

But for us, stupid and outrageous as his statement was in obvious, how he is definitely connected to her disappearance is still wasn't enough evidence at this point to make an arrest. And so he was to leave that day. Meanwhile, though, his car was still being processed, and the bank that he said he went to was being looked into as well.

And IT turns out that he did go to the bank. Security cameras placed him at bank of amErica around twelve fifty pm. And although the footage was Greeny, IT looks like the bottom of his genes were a darker color than the top of his genes.

They couldn't save for certain. And I know that sounds like sort of a weird thing to point out, but investors speculated that that dark part of his jeans wasn't indication that he may have been near a body of water. Now of course, he did say he went fishing.

So if they're assuming that's true, that could also explain the water. But of course, they're thinking that maybe he was at a body of water because he was disposing of series remains somewhere wet, which would make sense when IT comes to the L. G.

As well. But in the countless searches that have been done to find her, reservoir ponds and lakes were searched with the help of expert dive cruise. And even on days with terrible weather conditions and low visibility, they never stopped looking.

But each and every search to this day has ended with no sign of sera. One search did turn up in empty box that was labelled handcuff s and also some used condoms. But that was the last of what they ended up finding.

Even kt aver dogs who scoured miles and miles of land were not successful. And during all of this year's family even offered a ten thousand reward for information. But that reward went untouched. Thankfully, though, IT wasn't too much longer before the results from intel's car came back, and what they found was incriminating, to say the least.

Inside enter lds car, they not only found serious DNA on the rear driver side door and on a pair of gloves, but they also found a piece of her hair, which was located on a rope that they discovered in his trunk. And they were also able to match fibers from the floor mats to fibers that were located on C. S.

jacket. They did not, however, find any evidence of blood. And finally, with all of this evidence to suggest that sir had been inside his car and likely inside his trunk, they decided to arrest him.

On may twenty first twenty twelve, antone Garcia tourists was arrested for kidnapping and for first degree murder. And his one and only response to being placed in handcuffs. really? Yeah, really.

Now, the announcement of his arrest was not technically the first time that investigators had shared that they had a suspect in mind earlier that may they did release a photo of his red car to the public asking if had any information about IT because IT belonged someone that they thought was involved. But his arrest was the first time that anyone following the case, any of her loved ones had heard intel ens. name.

And they were super confused because ellin was not someone that any of them knew. IT wasn't someone that they thought, Sarah, I knew. So what did he have to do with her murder? And to this day, that remains a bit of a mystery despite his arrest.

And this isn't surprising because he is such an awful person. But he has not shared any details when IT comes to his involvement in c as murder. So investigating in prosecutors have had to come up with their own theory as to what happened, and they truly believe that this was just a random attack, just a case of wrong place, wrong time.

They believe that he had either been watching her at her bus stop and learned her routine and just struck when he thought the moment was right, or this could have really just been a crime of opportunity. The thing is, though, sara wasn't his first, I mean, his first murder, as far as we know, but he wasn't his first violent attack because wall investors were looking into him. They obviously wanted to run background check and looked to see if he had any history of violence.

And for starters, IT looked like he had a prior conviction for interfering with an officer, which didn't look great. But IT wasn't the worst of IT. What they ended up finding was much, much worse, because back in two thousand nine, there were three women who were attacked out in the parking lot of a safeway and IT, just so happened to be a safe way that hantee in had worked at at that time.

And at the time, police weren't able to figure out who was responsible for those attacks, but with the help of those women, they were able to create a composite sketch of the attacker. And when investigators were digging around, they saw this sketch and realize IT looked a help of a lot like england. So of course, theyve reopen those cases, found out that during one of those attacks, the guy had dropped his stun gun.

And while after running some testing on IT, they determined that a partial fingerprint was left on the battery of the device and IT was a match to antone. So on top of facing charges for kidnapping and killing era, he was also facing charges related to the string of attacks in the safeway parking line. But the biggest hurdle that prosecutors are facing now is the now able fact that they still don't have sara's body.

But of course, that was not going to stop them from trying to pursue justice. So on january fifth, two thousand seventeen, and land trial began. He had pleaded not guilty back february of two thousand and fourteen.

And in the years that he awaited a trial, he never said a word. The searches continued day in and day out, but were officially suspended by laender cement in may of two thousand and fifteen. That being said, though, the community searches went on and loved ones never gave up on finding sera, and that remains true to this day.

Balloon releases and canal visuals were held repeatedly in her honor. And like I said earlier, the way that this community came together for sir and her family was some that was just so incredibly beautiful to see. And I wish that was always the case for victims of violent crime.

Now as for his trial, that went on for quite some time from the end of january through the beginning of may, and nobody surprised that argue that that see her a head, in fact, run away. And they even that they had evidence to back up that theory. And that evidence was one of serious old school notebook.

And in this new book there was a note that read, I hate my life. No one ever sees this. I will be in seven years.

Go by three, sixteen, twelve. Now, mind you, three, sixteen, twelve happens to be the day that he went missing. So this seemed like a crazy coincidence rate, plus they also had another note that had also talked about running away.

And so in the eyes of the defense, this seemed like plenty of evidence that SHE really willingly left her life, which I definitely found to be interesting in confusing at first. But then I found out that a handwriting expert testified as well and said that none of these notes were in there as handwriting. And the prosecution argued that these messages were actually written by other students as some sort of up for which, I know, I don't get the joke.

I don't get the prank. It's incredibly weird. I don't know what kind of kids even, I mean, kids can do some dumb things.

But really, to make a prank for a case like this, I mean, I believe IT happened because I do not believe that these were written by C. R. H.

Just got really. But luckily for the most part, these notes seem to be discredited during the trial. And luckily, the jury agreed with the prosecution. And on mayland two thousand seventeen, after two days of deliberation, they found Garcia arias guilty on all charges, and although he was facing the death penalty, they decided to spare his life and ultimately recommended a ascendance of life in prison without perl, which was a decision that fear as dad disagreed with. And I completely understand where he's coming from there. He believes that the man responsible for his daughter's death should not be afforded the opportunity to live and wish that they had chosen a different conclusion. As for SHE said that although they are grateful that the jury chose to convict anl in nothing will take away the pain and sorrow that they experience every single .

anteon Garcia tour showed little emotion, but he bowed ed his head when the jury's verdi was read allowed guilty for the kidnapping and murder of syama, guilty on all counts.

Truly, we've been paying for the chapter to have this type of ending. Justice supporters .

and sea search team members embraced in high five each other. C. A, friends and family wept. Victory in the courtroom. But the loss goes on.

Nothing will take away the pain. And the so that we experience every day.

He took just twelve hours of deliberations for this jury to reach a verdict, a huge Victory for the prosecution test with proving murder, even though serious body was never found.

And since of the time that atlin was arrested, he refused to speak about what happened to sera. Besides maintaining his innocence, several news outlets had written to him in jail to try and see if he talk, but he never did. That is until december of twenty twenty, when, for whatever reason, he decided to reply to a reporter.

Although SHE asked him many different questions, he responded to only one, and he was one about his innocence in a no shock here, but he says that he holds fast to his innocence and that he is not going to talk about the case. He also mentioned not trusting. People and that his days of having his voice are long gone.

And truly, that is the last time he is spoken out. But talk about how many other people, because of you can trust anybody. Now the lamar family still holds out hope that one day air will be found, they'll finally be able to give her a proper barrier.

IT pisses me off beyond belief that this, I won't just tell them where he is. Obviously, that would make him half to admit that he was involved. But at this point, dude, come on, just give them that at the very least after everything you took from them.

All we can hope is that one day serious family is able to find her and to put her to rest, and that they don't have to go another twelve years, if not longer, not having that type of closure. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, thousands and thousands of hours have gone into searching for era that equal about five and a half years of searching for her. What is just in saying that nothing has been found? But I I wish that that type of search effort and that type of community support, you know, would be available to all victims who are missing out there.

But that's just, unfortunately, not the case. But this week in there is honor. I wanted to make an additional contribution to the higher hope foundation, my new foundation. If you have heard about that, you can check out my last couple of episodes, right? Speak about what we're doing and what we hope to do in the future.

We are to have a few grants in process, and i'm hoping that we will be able to help more victims like sia get the justice that they deserve. I just wanted to say to serious loved ones and family that I am so devastated by what your family has been through a loss like this. I don't know if I would personally ever build to recover from in the strength that you guys have all shown and your ability to keep fighting, to keep searching after all of this time is just a really inspirational to me.

And I I hope that one day I can update you all that her remains have been found in her family is able to get that closure. That is gonna be IT for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on spotify, an apple podcast.

IT really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find IT on my youtube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search candle ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, they say about there.