After a four-day break, jurors on Tuesday returned to a San Jose courtroom to hear closing arguments from the prosecution in the Sierra LaMar murder case.
Life in prison or the death penalty is on the table for convicted killer Antolin Garcia Torres as jurors proceed in the penalty phase of the lengthy and emotional case. LaMar disappeared March 16, 2012 on her way to a bus stop near her mother's Morgan Hill home, but she hasn't been found since.
The Sierra LaMar Murder Trial in Images
Garcia Torres was found guilty of killing the 15-year-old earlier this month. Since then, emotional family members and friends of LaMar have testified during the case's penalty phase, pushing home the point that Garcia Torres deserves the death penalty for not showing any mercy for the teenager.
A tearful Laura Torres — Garcia Torres' mother — also testified. She spoke to the episodes of violence, poverty and abuse that her son was faced to deal with growing up. Garcia Torres himself will not testify during the penalty phase.
If Garcia Torres reveals where LaMar's body is, he could avoid the death penalty.
