A young man who allegedly confessed to shooting a 19-year-old Downey woman in the head at a Whittier park, kidnapping her, trying to rape her and then dumping her body in Riverside County was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on murder and other charges.
Superior Court Judge George Lomeli determined that the prosecution had presented enough evidence to allow the case against Gabriel Sean Esparza, now 22, to proceed to trial following a hearing that included nearly 1 1/2 days of testimony, including Whittier Police Department Sgt. Jose Bolanos’ account that the Whittier man gave a graphic account of the Aug. 20, 2023, attack on Andrea Vazquez.
Esparza is charged with one count each of murder, kidnapping to commit another crime, kidnapping and assault with intent to commit a felony, and two counts of attempted forcible rape — all involving Vazquez, along with an attempted murder charge involving a young man who was dating the victim and was at Penn Park with her…