The man convicted of murdering Sierra LaMar can now receive a new trial after a California appeals court overturned his conviction Friday, a shocking twist in one of the Bay Area’s most emotional and high-profile disappearances.
Sierra was 15 years old on March 16, 2012, the day she vanished from her Morgan Hill home. That morning, she got ready for school as usual, replying to a friend’s text at 7:11 a.m. and using her computer until 7:12. Her mother and her mother’s boyfriend had both left the house when Sierra likely departed around 7:20 a.m. to catch the bus to Sobrato High School. But the bus passed her stop, and Sierra wasn’t there. It wasn’t until after the school day was over that Sierra’s mother learned she never arrived.
Calls to Sierra’s cell phone went unanswered, and when her mother got home, she found the lights off and the doors locked. Police were called to the home, and the search for Sierra began…