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

$6,800 reward offered for safe return of teen

Monday, July 19, 2010

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- Several businesses and local officials have put together a $6,800 reward for the safe return of a missing Moreno Valley teenager.

Norma Lopez disappeared last Thursday after summer school at Valley View High School. She was supposed to meet her sister and a friend at home but never returned from school.

Investigators found evidence suggesting she may have been abducted. Some of her belongings were found in a field the teen often used as a shortcut to her home, authorities said, and there were signs of a possible struggle.

Authorities said Norma had no apparent problems at home and didn't think she had just run away.

"We do not believe she's a runaway. If we did believe that, we wouldn't be here today," Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Joe Borja told reporters at a news conference Friday. "If Norma's out there, we're looking for you. If you haven't been taken, please call. We're worried about you."

Her classmates say they won't rest until they find her.

"We're trying everything just to get her back safe and sound, to help her return to her own family. We need her back, we want her back, we miss her, we love her," said volunteer Melanie Villarreal.

Police are also looking for a green SUV that was seen speeding away from the area. Anyone with information is urged to call Moreno Valley Police at (877) 242-4345.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=7562302

Girl likely abducted on way home from school

Posted: 09:53 AM ET
July 19, 2010



Authorities in California are investigating the possible kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl.

Norma Lopez was believed to be last seen July 15 walking home from summer school, the Moreno Valley Police Department said in a statement.

“At this point the investigation suggests that the victim was taken against her will and a newer model, green, SUV-type vehicle was seen speeding from the area,” investigators said.

According to the police, Lopez had attended summer school at Valley View High School on the 15th. She planned to meet a friend and her younger sister at the family’s home later that morning, but never arrived.

Investigators said Lopez would often take a short cut home through a dirt field and may suspect that she was abducted in that vicinity.

Norma Lopez is approximately 5’7”, 110lbs. with brown eyes and brown shoulder length hair.

She was last seen wearing a black and white horizontal stripe, sleeveless shirt with a floral pattern, and black “skinny jeans.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of her should call the Moreno Valley Police at 951-247-8700.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/19/girl-likely-abducted-on-way-home-from-school/

UPDATE: Reward increased in search for missing Moreno Valley teen

By PE News
July 20, 2010 10:51 AM

Moreno Valley officials and the FBI announced a $35,000 reward for information leading to arrest and convicted for the suspected abductors of a missing Moreno Valley teen.

Police believe 17-year-old Norma Lopez was kidnapped while walking home from summer school at Valley View High around 10 a.m. Thursday.

Police say they found her personal belongings and signs of a struggle in a dirt field south of Cottonwood Avenue. Authorities add that Norma is not considered a runaway.

During a press conference today, Norma's sister, Elizabeth Lopez, pleaded for the release of her younger sister.

"To the person out there, please let her go," she said. "Please have the heart to let her go. We just want her to come home."
— JOHN ASBURY

http://blogs.pe.com/news/digest/2010/07/update-reward-increased-in-sea.html

Body found near site where Calif. teen disappeared

The Associated Press
Posted: 07/20/2010 01:09:46 PM PDT

MORENO VALLEY, Calif.—Sheriff's officials say a body has been found near the site where a 17-year-old girl disappeared on her way home from summer school in Southern California.

Sgt. Joe Borja says someone reported the human remains Tuesday. The body has not yet been identified, and it has not been determined if it is a male or female.

Family members of Norma Lopez had pleaded for her safe return earlier in the day.

The remains were found in a remote area about three miles from the site where Lopez vanished Thursday.

Authorities suspect she was kidnapped and have offered a $35,000 reward for new information that leads to the girl being found.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (AP)—Authorities offered a $35,000 reward Tuesday for new information in the search for Norma Lopez, a 17-year-old girl who authorities suspect was kidnapped while walking home from school.

The move came after efforts to find the girl stalled. Family members pleaded for her safe return.

"If the person that took her is out there, please let her go," sister Elizabeth Lopez said at a news conference. "She hasn't done anything to anyone to deserve this, at all."

Norma Lopez vanished Thursday after attending a summer class at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley in Southern California.

Personal items and signs of a struggle were discoveredin a field the girl often used as a shortcut home. Police went door-to-door, and searchers using dogs covered nearby areas for days.

Authorities have not identified any suspects or persons of interest.

"We have pretty much exhausted every means possible but are continuing to look for her," said Sgt. Joe Borja of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

FBI investigators have talked to school friends and other acquaintances and continued to work with county investigators, said Don Roberts, the FBI's supervisory special agent in Riverside.

"We have our own children, and it does not take much motivation for FBI agents and police officers to work day and night, as we are, to look for Norma and find clues that will lead to her recovery," Roberts said.

Borja said investigators were acting on the presumption the girl was kidnapped.

"We contacted every friend, relative, everybody available that we can and there's no information that would leave us to believe that she's a runaway," he said.

Borja urged the public to report suspicious strangers.

"We're following up all leads, especially when it pertains to, you know, deviant behavior or behavior that's not normal toward young females," he said.

http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_15559692

Oh my, not good news.........

Body confirmed as missing Moreno Valley teen

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- Authorities identified a decomposed body Wednesday as that of 17-year-old Norma Lopez who disappeared last week in Moreno Valley. Her body was discovered Tuesday afternoon about 2.5 to 3 miles from where she was last seen.

At a news conference Wednesday, Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Joe Borja said Lopez was identified through dental records, adding that a homicide investigation is in progress.

Borja said the body was discovered in a rural field near trees by a local resident doing yard work Tuesday afternoon.

Lopez, 17, disappeared last Thursday. Police said she was on her way home after summer school at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley.

They believe she was walking through a vacant lot that she used as a shortcut, and that she was abducted based on signs of a struggle in the area. Items belonging to Lopez were found near where she was last seen. Authorities would not identify the found items, citing the ongoing investigation.

Borja said it was unknown whether the girl was taken by an acquaintance or a stranger. Her boyfriend had been interviewed and was not a suspect, Borja said.

Police and the FBI have not identified a suspect and have asked the public for help in the investigation.

Authorities were seeking the driver of a green SUV seen driving away from Lopez's last location around the approximate time of her disappearance.

The decomposed body, shirtless and clad in jeans, was found face-down in a grove of trees. A Moreno Valley resident made the gruesome discovery near Dracaea Avenue and Theodore Street about 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The location is 2.5 to 3 miles east of Lopez's home and the site of her disappearance. Borja said the official search had not yet expanded to that point before the body was discovered.

A $35,000 reward was offered for information that leads to an arrest in the apparent kidnapping of Lopez. Anyone with information related to the case is urged to call the Moreno Valley Police Department hotline designated for this case at (877) 242-4345 or e-mail the Riverside County Sheriff's Department at findnormaskiller@riversidesheriff.org.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=7567461

WHat more can I say???

This is so sad, it appears she was killed immediately upon her abduction.

So sad!.. what is happening in this crazy world?
Are more ppl becoming peds/rapists/killers???

What is the root of the problem?

Im wondering if self defense needs to be incoporated in our curriculums, starting in kindergarten... it might help..

Slain CA teen's sister urges killer to surrender

Associated Press
Posted on July 22, 2010 at 4:00 PM

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — A sister of slain Southern California teenager Norma Lopez has urged the killer to surrender.

In an emotional press conference Thursday outside the family's Moreno Valley home, Elizabeth Lopez urged the unknown person who kidnapped and killed the 17-year-old to turn themselves in to authorities.

Elizabeth Lopez also repeatedly demanded to know why her sister was taken.

She says the family is terribly saddened and their hearts are broken.

Norma Lopez vanished July 15 after leaving a summer school session. Personal belongings were found in a nearby field, and her body was found Tuesday several miles away in another rural field.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/national/99062194.html

awaiting justice wrote:So sad!.. what is happening in this crazy world?
Are more ppl becoming peds/rapists/killers???

What is the root of the problem?

Im wondering if self defense needs to be incoporated in our curriculums, starting in kindergarten... it might help..

Self defense would be a great idea to be incorporated into our curriculum AJ. Children unfortunately are the targets of many pervs and need to be able to defend themselves.

I wish I knew the root of the problem. Perhaps it has something to do with the huge lack of morals and respect being taught at home by many parents. It could have something to do with the huge amount of broken homes that children are being raised in, or the fact that many families now need both parents to work just to survive. I think too many young teenagers are left at home by themselves or in charge of younger siblings while their only parent works or both parents work. There is no supervision and they are allowed to go on the internet and watch television unsupervised and look at whatever they want.

Also in many households, everybody is in their own little world on the electronics and many families don't communicate with each other much. In many cases, it's rare that families eat dinner together at the table.

My twins are both black belts in Karate, and Dakota, the girl, keeps telling us if someone tries to do anything to her she will use her Karate on them. She has made believers out of us as she has used it twice in school and almost a third time, but the teacher caught her foot before she made contact with the bully's head. She got sent home for the day.

I told her that's all good on kids her size, but what would she try if it was an adult, whether male or female? She said she would probably be too scared to even think about a round house kick. That's why they are not even allowed to go to the community pool unless there is an adult with them.

This is all very sad. I hope they find who did this to her - hopefully since she was found so soon after her disappearance they will be able to get touch DNA from her body in order to find her killer... so sad...

Hopefully there is DNA to lead to a suspect, and if not, hopefully the sighting of the green SUV speeding away from the area leads to a suspect.

Eight years later: Samantha Runnion and Norma Lopez and a mother’s message of hope

Thursday, July 29th, 2010.
Issue 30, Volume 14.

Story Last Updated : Jul 30th.


Erin Runnion, Samantha Runnion's mother.




5-year-old Samantha Runnion who was killed the same day as Norma Lopez 8 years ago.

This week the Lopez family will say their final goodbyes to Norma Angelica Lopez. The spirited 17-year-old teenager, found murdered in Moreno Valley after she was missing for a week, will be buried on Thursday. Not many know what it’s like to walk the path the Lopez family has been forced to travel. Erin Runnion, Samantha’s mom, is one of the few who does know.

"I would want them to know that thousands of people they don’t even know are thinking of them during this time," Erin Runnion said.

July is not an easy month for Runnion. It’s the month that marks the death of her daughter, it was also the month she celebrated her birth. On July 26, Samantha would’ve turned 14. The realization that Norma died on the exact anniversary of her daughter’s death was overwhelming and difficult for her to accept.

"It makes me very sad. It makes me very sad because when Samantha was taken, I wished…I hoped that she would be the last," Runnion said. "So having another girl taken on that day is just heartbreaking, just heartbreaking, eight years later."

Lopez was abducted July 15 and her body was found five days later, about 2 1/2 miles from where she was taken. The teen had attended summer school the morning of her kidnapping and was en route to a friend’s house on Cottonwood Avenue when she was snatched, according to Riverside County sheriff’s officials. Norma’s killer has not been found. Investigators won’t say how Norma died or whether she was sexually assaulted.

The emotional events that have gripped the small, Southwest Riverside County community since Norma Lopez’s recent disappearance, take Runnion’s mind back to a painful time.

Read more here:
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/49739/

Norma Lopez's death sparks vigilance

07:05 PM PDT on Monday, August 9, 2010

By LAURIE LUCAS and JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise

Nikki Mary Sheahan, 15, is the face of a new type of girl in Moreno Valley: scared but defiant, determined not to become another victim.

The kidnap and murder of her good friend, Norma Lopez, has shaken Sheahan's secure little world in this community of nearly 200,000 residents. She's learned self-defense. She'll only ride, never walk anywhere. She stays home rather than hanging out at the mall with friends.

Since police identified the remains of Lopez, 17, the city has been on red alert to find her killer. After a flurry of fundraisers for the family, the community focus has switched to safety, self-protection and neighborhood watches to prevent a repeat tragedy.

When school starts Wednesday, parents, teachers and community leaders will hammer the district's 36,000 students with repeated safety messages in classrooms, take-home packets, assemblies and pre-recorded phone calls.

Although always high on the back-to-school agenda, safety has skyrocketed to top priority, buttressed by increased patrol officers and school resource officers, said the district's interim superintendent, Nick Ferguson. "There will be a greater emphasis on walking to and from school, avoiding shortcuts and isolated areas, and paying attention to what and who's around you."

Read more here:

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_norma10.2187dd2.html

Home searched in Norma Lopez case

11:50 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 31, 2010

By JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County sheriff's detectives served a search warrant and towed a green SUV Tuesday afternoon in connection to the murder investigation of Moreno Valley teenager Norma Lopez.

Read more:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_webnorma.ad1a2280.html

Former Worker At Norma Lopez's High School Focus Of Warrant

POSTED: 6:52 am PDT September 2, 2010

MORENO VALLEY -- A man who was a focus of a search warrant in the murder investigation of Moreno Valley teenager Norma Lopez worked at the girl's high school, but as of today detectives had not publicly identified him as a suspect.

Lazarus Tasby, 25, worked at Valley View High School from March 2007 to November 2009, according to Moreno Valley Unified School District officials.

School district records show Tasby resigned for personal reasons from his position as an instructional assistant working with disabled students on Nov. 17, the Press-Enterprise reported.

Read more:
http://www.kesq.com/news/24853301/detail.html

200 show for benefit concert for Moreno Valley homicide victim

11:39 PM PDT on Saturday, September 18, 2010

By BRIAN ROKOS
The Press-Enterprise



One of the themes of Saturday's "Never Again" concert to benefit the family of homicide victim Norma Lopez was that students should not walk alone to and from school.

In a figurative sense, community members, bands and area businesses made sure that the Lopez family would not walk alone in its grief.

Under a cloudless, bright blue sky, about 200 people, paying $10 each, turned out to Moreno Valley College for a six-band concert that included Inland-based Alien Ant Farm and San Diego-based P.O.D. They played for free in the event organized by Tao Music Group.

Read more: http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_wnorma19.2481858.html

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

Updating old case

MORENO VALLEY: Trial date set in Norma Lopez killing
Published: March 10, 2014 Updated: Aug. 18, 2014 10:59 a.m.



A Riverside County judge has set a tentative trial date in September for the man charged with kidnapping and killing 17-year-old Norma Lopez in Moreno Valley.

A jury trial is set to begin Sept. 15 for Jesse Perez Torres, 37, who could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if he’s convicted.

Moreno Valley police arrested Torres in 2011 in Long Beach, more than a year after Norma was kidnapped while walking home from summer school classes at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley.

Detectives linked Torres to the killing through a DNA sample that matched a trace of DNA found on Norma’s earring, which was left in a field where she was abducted.

Read more:  http://www.pe.com/articles/-743924--.html

(I can't find anything more recent on this case.)