The scheduled May 23 trial date for the suspected murderer of Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar was vacated. A hearing is scheduled for June 17 for a discussion on details of a series of motions the defendant intends to file, including one requesting a change of venue.
Antolin Garcia Torres, 24 of Morgan Hill, appeared at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose Monday. His trial was scheduled to start this week, but his attorneys were not ready to proceed.
The court has not yet scheduled a new trial date. Instead, a hearing on pre-trial motions for a change of venue and to suppress evidence will occur July 29, according to court documents. Garcia Torres’ defense attorneys plan to file the motions in the coming days.
Until the hearing on the motions, both parties will return to court June 17 for an update, but not for a ruling on the motions, according to authorities.
Garcia Torres is accused of kidnapping Sierra March 16, 2012, and murdering her some time after her disappearance.
Sierra was a 15-year-old sophomore at Sobrato High School at the time. Authorities say she disappeared while walking to her school bus stop near her north Morgan Hill home. She has not been seen since, and her remains have not been found.
In the days following her disappearance, investigators found Sierra’s cell phone, her bag and some of her clothing off the side of roadways near her neighborhood. Police say they found some of Garcia Torres’ DNA on her belongings, and Sierra’s DNA in the suspect’s Volkswagen Jetta.
Garcia Torres is charged with murder in relation to Sierra’s disappearance. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
He is also charged with three unrelated attempted carjackings/assaults that took place in the parking lots of two Morgan Hill Safeway restaurants in 2009.
