Norma Lopez -- Found Deceased 7/20/10 -- Jesse Perez Torres Charged With Murder

Special Report: The Search For Norma Lopez's Killer

By Mike Daniels, News Channel 3 Reporter
UPDATED: 6:20 pm PST November 9, 2010

~Snipped~

On July 15th, deputies say, someone kidnapped Lopez from a dirt field as she walked to a friend's house after summer school near Nason Street and Cottonwood Avenue.

Five days later, a Moreno Valley man found her body in a field at the corner of Dreacea Avenue and Theodore Street, 2 1/2 miles from where she disappeared.

Norma's older sister, Elizabeth, shares the frustration her family lives with, knowing detectives still haven't caught Norma's killer. "He's still out there," Elizabeth Lopez says. "He could harm anyone. Just what we have to live with inside, we don't want this to happen to anyone else."

Witnesses told police they saw a green SUV in the area on the day Norma Lopez disappeared. In late August, police served a search warrant at 25-year-old Lazarus Tasby's house just blocks away. He once worked at Norma's school, and it just so happens, he drove a green SUV. Police called Tasby a person of interest in the case. He says he didn't do it and police have nothing on him.

Read more: http://www.kesq.com/news/25688986/detail.html

~Snipped~

Nearly four months after the kidnapping and murder of 17-year-old Norma Lopez, it appears the Riverside County Sheriff's deputies are no closer to finding her killer.

We asked for an interview with the Riveside County Sheriff's Department. They said they wouldn't speak with us because they say absolutely nothing is new. They say the case is still active, but leads have dried up.

How terrible for this family. I hope this doesn't go on for years and the suspect was right under their nose. Four months and leads have already dried up, that is not good.

Norma Lopez Investigation: Six Months Later
Lopez Kidnapped, Murdered Yards Away From Her High School

POSTED: 6:20 am PST January 15, 2011

MORENO VALLEY -- Today marks six-months since the abduction and murder of 17-year-old Norma Angelica Lopez, the Moreno Valley girl whose case mobilized a community and now "eats'' at the investigators working to solve it.

Since Norma's disappearance and death on July 15, Riverside County sheriff's investigators have followed up ``hundreds, if not thousands'' of potential leads in the case, but none have resulted in a resolution -- to the frustration of everyone involved, according to sheriff's Capt. John Anderson, the chief of police for Moreno Valley.

"It's one of those cases that, until it gets solved, it haunts you,'' Anderson told City News Service. "Here you have a totally innocent young girl with a lot of life ahead of her, a promising future, and she's killed. It's the sort of thing that eats at your heart. We want to solve this -- badly.''

Anderson said that while the amount of resources devoted full-time to the case has been cut sharply, detectives from Moreno Valley -- which contracts with the sheriff's department for law enforcement services -- and the sheriff's Central Homicide Unit continue to scrutinize any and all prospective leads.

"I can safely say we are working this case actively,'' the police chief said. ``We haven't reached the point where we have nothing else to look at.''

Anderson said law enforcement identified several "persons of interest'' early in the investigation. "But those didn't pane out,'' he said.

One of them was a 25-year-old Moreno Valley resident whose questioning by detectives in early September generated a stir when his stepfather allegedly attempted to interfere with sheriff's deputies examining the young man's green sport utility vehicle.

A green pickup truck or SUV was reported speeding away from the location of Norma's abduction. But on reflection, Anderson said, there's no certainty that the vehicle and the kidnapping are related.

Read more: http://www.kesq.com/news/26504191/detail.html

One Year Later, Norma Lopez Murder Remains Unsolved

KTLA News
1:32 p.m. PDT, July 15, 2011

 

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.

Read more: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-norma-lopez-murder-anniversary,0,64946.story

Norma Lopez killer arrested, family of slain Moreno Valley teen says

Sheriff's officials plan noon news conference on case

9:39 AM, Oct. 21, 2011

he family of Norma Lopez, the 17-year-old girl from Moreno Valley who was kidnapped in July 2010 and killed, says there has been an arrest in her slaying.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, which provides police services in Moreno Valley, plans to hold a news conference at noon "to address the investigation status of the homicide of Norma Lopez," Lt. Robert G. Peebles wrote in an email.

Read more: http://www.mydesert.com/article/20111021/NEWS0801/111021002

Father of slain Moreno Valley teen waited ‘so long’ for justice

October 21, 2011 | 8:07 am

The father of a Moreno Valley 17-year-old who was abducted and murdered in the summer of 2010, a case that struck fear into parents throughout the Riverside County city, on Friday said the family is relieved that a suspect finally has been tracked down and arrested.

Norma Lopez disappeared after leaving summer school, and her body was found five days later on the eastern edge of town. Her father said it's been a difficult 15 months for the family, but that they always were confident that police would catch the killer.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/norma-lopez-moreno-valley-arrest.html

MORENO VALLEY: Suspect lived by Norma Lopez’ school

BY JOHN ASBURY
10/21/11

A possible suspect in the kidnapping and killing of 17-year-old Moreno Valley teen Norma Lopez lived directly across the street from where she took her final steps.

Jesse Perez Torres was arrested by Moreno Valley police about 10 a.m. Thursday in Long Beach. He was booked on suspicion of murder and kidnapping to commit rape.

Read more: http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/moreno-valley/moreno-valley-headlines-index/20111021-moreno-valley-suspect-lived-by-norma-lopez-school.ece

Jesse Perez Torres Booking Info: http://jimspub.riversidesheriff.org/cgi-bin/iisinfo.acu?bkno=201144067G

Man arrested in connection with Norma Lopez abduction and murder

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

MORENO VALLEY - A suspect in the July 2010 murder of 17-year-old Norma Lopez was behind bars today on a $1 million bail.

Jesse Perez Torres, 35, of Long Beach, was charged with murder, kidnapping to commit rape and assault in the death of the Moreno Valley teenager, who was snatched while walking to a friend's house after school at Valley View High School, according to court papers.

Torres was jailed in Riverside after being arrested at his Long Beach home about 10 a.m. Thursday. It was unclear how detectives linked Torres to the killing.

"We are confident we have the (right) suspect in custody," Riverside County sheriff's Capt. John Anderson said at a news conference Friday.

Read more: http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/59448/

MORENO VALLEY: New hearing set in Norma Lopez case

BY JOHN ASBURY
Published: 06 January 2012 10:55 AM

A judge Friday set a March court date for prosecutors to present evidence in the killing of Norma Lopez.

Jesse Perez Torres, 35, is charged with murder, with a special circumstance of kidnapping, in abduction and slaying of the 17-year-old as she was walking home from summer school classes in July 2010.

Perez Torres has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Read more: http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/moreno-valley/moreno-valley-headlines-index/20120106-moreno-valley-new-hearing-set-in-norma-lopez-case.ece