SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — Jury selection is underway for a new murder trial that will decide if Sierra LaMar’s once-convicted killer could one day walk free as an exonerated man, or continue serving a life prison sentence.
Antolin Garcia-Torres, 35, is charged with kidnapping and murdering 15-year-old LaMar on March 16, 2012 while she was walking to her school bus stop in Morgan Hill. He was found guilty after a 2017 jury trial. Earlier this year, a California court of appeal overturned all of his convictions, spurring the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to swiftly prepare for a second trial to attempt to prove his guilt.
On Wednesday afternoon, a large pool of prospective jurors filled out stacks of questionnaires and they answered questions from attorneys in the Hall of Justice courthouse in San Jose.
For the jury, defense attorneys are seeking to find unbiased Santa Clara County residents who have heard little about the high-profile case that’s been covered for years by the media. The defense argued that the case gained so much notoriety around Morgan Hill, residents who live on the south end of the county are tainted…