Man convicted in 2012 killing of Sierra LaMar may get a new trial after court ruling

MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KGO) — The California Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled Friday to reverse the convictions and ordered a possible new trial for the man found guilty of murdering Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar in 2012.

Antolin Garcia-Torres was originally sentenced in 2017 to life without the possibility of parole for the kidnapping and killing of the 15-year-old.

TIMELINE: Sierra LaMar kidnapping, murder case

In an opinion filed Friday in the California Court of Appeals, the judgment was reversed, saying, “There was insufficient evidence of willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder or a specific intent to kill.”

At the time of the trial, Garcia-Torres was facing four counts, one for firstdegree murder during the commission of a kidnapping and three others for attempted kidnapping during a carjacking in an unrelated case.

The court ruled that it was an error to try the murder case with the attempted kidnappings, which occurred three years earlier in a Safeway parking lot. Therefore, the court says the error was prejudicial, requiring the reversal of all the convictions.

However, the court did find that there was sufficient evidence of felony murder, and LaMar had died due to a criminal act.

ABC7 Eyewitness News has reached out to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for comment, but has not heard back.

Stay with ABC7 News for the latest details on this developing story.