One Year Later, Norma Lopez Murder Remains Unsolved/35 Yr Old Jesse Perez Torres Arrested for the Murder and Kidnapping of Norma Lopez

I thought we had a thread about this, but it didn't come up when I did a search. I happened to think about the case, wondered what had happened with it, and found this update.

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) -- It has been one year since 17-year-old Norma Lopez was abducted as she walked home from summer classes at Valley View High School.

Family members told police that Norma usually walked home from school south on Nason Street to Dracaea Avenue and then took a shortcut through a field south to Cottonwood.

The field, a well-known neighborhood shortcut, is off a street that dead-ends at the base of boulder-studded hills cut with trails.

Items belonging to Lopez were found in the field and there also were signs of a possible struggle.

Her body was discovered five days later by a resident clearing brush on his property several miles away.

Police have not released specific details about the case, such as how the teenager died, if she was sexually assaulted or how long after the abduction Norma may have lived.

In the days and weeks following the murder, police received thousands of tips.

There were reports of a green SUV speeding away from the area around the time of the abduction.

In September, police searched the near-by home of a teacher's aide at Norma's school, Lazarus Tasby.

Authorities seized a green SUV belonging to the young man, but were unable to link him to the case.

To date no arrests have been made, but police say they continue to chase down leads.

They also hope they may get a hit from DNA collected from the teenager's body.

Moreno Valley officials and the FBI are offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Norma's murder.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Moreno Valley Police Hotline at 1-877-242-4345.

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Thanks for posting this update Lisette. It's frustrating that no one has been charged in this girls murder yet.
I'm positive that we have a thread on this just as you said but I went thru' every active thread tonight and cannot find anything.

I don't know what is happening to some of our threads.
Just like I knew we had a thread on Sylar Newton. We had one then when Anna wanted to post an update about him and poof it was gone. I will need help searching the archives for some of these threads. Thanks for the update lisette.

I just got a phone call from a friend of mine who lives in Moreno Valley where Norma lived and where her family still lives. There will be a presser tomorrow but the word is that Norma's killer has been found and he's in jail. I can't provide a link unless I give my friends phone # and I don't think he'd be very happy with me! But he's reliable.
Go to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and scroll down a bit and you'll find where her family posted that her killer has been found.
Great news!
(LM, I'm going to look in the archives for this thread, we definitely have one)

The family of Norma Lopez, the slain Moreno Valley girl who officials say was kidnapped last July while walking home from summer school classes, announced an arrest in her killing.
Sheriff’s officials could not confirm an arrest was made.
Norma’s sister Elizabeth announced the arrest late Thursday evening on a Facebook page titled, “Find Norma Lopez.”
“I waited 1 yr and 3 months and my answer that I've been awaiting for was finally answered. I promised this crime wasn't gunna (sic) go unanswered and the fbi didn't fail us...” the post read. “He's been found and he's in jail, we’re going on trial...more info will be on the news tomorrow as there will be a press conference announcing my sister’s killer has been found...”
Reached about 11 p.m. Thursday, Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Borja could not comment on the case.
“We can’t confirm anything right now,” he said.
According to jail records, Moreno Valley police arrested a man Thursday in Long Beach on suspicion of murder and kidnapping to commit rape. Authorities have not confirmed if it is the same suspect in Norma’s killing.
Jesse Perez Torres, 35, was booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside about 6 p.m. No charges have been filed in Riverside County or federal court. Bail was set at $1 million. He is not listed on the state’s sex offender database.
Norma’s death captured the community and left them in a state of fear and heartbreak. Families struggled with the idea that a child could be kidnapped in broad daylight. Hours after her death, thousands converged at Norma’s high school to mourn and share memories of their stolen classmate.
Norma was abducted July 15, 2010, while walking home from summer school classes at Valley View High School in eastern Moreno Valley.
There were no witnesses to her kidnapping. A green SUV was seen speeding away from the area.
Her body was found in a field five days later, though police had no suspects. Investigators canvassed the city, tracking down thousands of leads and interviewing nearly every registered sex offender in the city.
Investigators have long believed that Norma’s killer was a stranger who abducted her as a crime of opportunity while she was walking home alone. The case triggered new warnings for parents to guard their kids closely and ensure they were supervised at all times.
DNA found on Norma’s body was submitted to the state department of justice database to be checked against any existing or new suspects.
As of the one-year anniversary of the killing, police said there were no hits and every tip had dried up. Police pleaded for a new tip or for someone to come forward.
Authorities have not announced any new developments in the case, but are expected to release information on Friday.

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Moreno Valley Police confirmed that they have arrested a 35-year-old Long Beach man in connection with the murder of Norma Lopez. Lopez is the 17-year-old high school student who was abducted last year while walking home from school.

Moreno Valley Police Department officials arrested a Jesse Perez Torres, 35, at 10 p.m. Thursday in Long Beach on suspicion of murder and kidnapping to commit robbery, according to police records. His bail is set at $1 million.

Police Chief John Anderson did not give details about the investigation that led to Thursday's arrest of Jesse Perez Torres, 35, in Long Beach on suspicion of the kidnap and murder of Lopez.

According to the Los Angeles Times, neighbors of the suspect described him as "weird" and "creepy."

"We really didn't know him that well," neighbor Helen Silva, 26, told the Times. "He was kind of creepy. He kept to himself a lot."

According to the L.A. Times report, Silva said Torres would sometimes walk around the neighborhood looking at everyone, which made her feel uneasy. She said that sometimes Torres would ask her strange questions the few times they spoke, including one instance in which he asked if she knew anything about domestic violence.

"I never talked to him," Silva said. "I never wanted to be around him." Silva said she almost never saw his wife, but believed they had two young sons.

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We did have a thread on Norma Lopez. I remember THIS picture well. Where is that thread??

I don't understand where some of the threads have gone.

I know we also had a huge thread on Annie Le that was murdered at Yale.

Thanks to you all for remembering Norma.

I looked thru all 23 pages of archived threads and didn't see anything. I remember all the threads you guys just mentioned too. How is it possible they just disappeared????

I don't know. It is something I need to take up with the idiots at forumotions. I doubt I will get a decent response, if I get one at all.

I can't believe that any of us deleted any threads. If we had by mistake I know we would admit it. They just can't go poof and be gone.

Happened to think about this case...This is the most recent info I could find.

Preliminary Hearing Date Set for Suspect in Norma Lopez Murder

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) -- A Long Beach man accused of murdering 17-year old Norma Lopez is due back in court March 28 for a preliminary hearing

Jesse Perez Torres pleaded not guilty last November in the murder of the Moreno Valley teenager.

He is charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of kidnapping, which making him eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors say they got a DNA match in the case that linked Torres to DNA found on Norma's body.

Dist. Atty.'s spokesman John Hall said the agency will not provide any more details about the DNA evidence, only that there was a "hit" directly linking Torres to one of the crime scenes.

Torres also owned an SUV that matched the description of a vehicle a witness saw at the site of the kidnapping, a vacant lot less than 200 yards from Torres' suburban home.

The witness told authorities the vehicle was a green SUV, which became a focal point in the initial investigation.

Lopez was abducted in the middle of the afternoon while walking home from a summer school biology class at Valley View High School on July 15, 2010.

Her body was found in a nearby field five days later.

Investigators said they found some of Norma's belongings, as well as signs of a struggle, in a vacant field along Cottonwood Avenue, a popular shortcut among students.

At the time of the crime, Torres lived in a home on a Moreno Valley street that Lopez walked past.

Torres moved to Long Beach in August 2010.

He was previously charged with felony spousal abuse and assault three months before Norma’s disappearance, but the charges were dropped.

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MORENO VALLEY: Death penalty weighed in Norma Lopez killing



BY JOHN ASBURY STAFF WRITER [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Published: 09 March 2012 10:25 AM
Prosecutors are expected to make a decision soon on whether a former Moreno Valley man should face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and slaying 17-year-old Norma Lopez.
Jesse Perez Torres, 35, could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder and a special circumstance of kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty.
Riverside County Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Soccio said his office would soon meet to determine what punishment to pursue at trial. Those involved in the decision are District Attorney Paul Zellerbach, defense attorneys and relatives of both Norma and Torres.
Norma’s family previously said they did not want Torres to face the death penalty.
Norma was abducted in July 2010 while walking home from summer classes at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. Police believe she struggled with her attacker. Her body was found five days later in a remote field off Theodore Street.
Prosecutors arrested Torres more than a year later after his DNA sample matched DNA found near Norma’s body.
Torres appeared in a Riverside courtroom Friday in shackles, wearing a red jail uniform, indicating he’s a high-risk inmate or being kept in isolation. He was surrounded by three lawyers from the Riverside County capital defender’s office. Norma’s family was not in the courtroom.
A preliminary hearing for prosecutors to present their case was scheduled for the end of the month. It was postponed so prosecutors could conduct further DNA tests on evidence in the case.
Follow John Asbury on Twitter @johnasbury

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