← Going West: True Crime
Going West: True Crime
Norma Lopez // 515
00:45:54
In July of 2010, a 17-year-old girl vanished while walking home from summer school in a quiet Southern California suburb. Her belongings were scattered in a field along her route, but she was nowhere to be found. Days later, the discovery of her body would leave a community shaken and desperate for answers. But with help of DNA and a disturbing surveillance video, police would find a violent suspect. This is the murder of Norma Lopez.
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- [00:00]
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- [01:56]
Heath
What is going on? True crime fans, I'm your host he.
- [01:59]
Daphne
And I'm your host Daphne.
- [02:01]
Heath
And you're listening to Going West.
- [02:03]
Daphne
Hello everybody. Hope you're having a good day. I want to first start by giving a huge shout out to our very own Heath. It was his birthday yesterday, the day before this episode comes out.
- [02:15]
Heath
Oh, thank you.
- [02:16]
Daphne
He is so amazing. We love him so much. We are camping this week actually for Heath's birthday we did our second bonus episode of the month, bit special. It's called Tales from the Campground and we're sitting in our tent. We were telling these creepy true horror stories and that was so much fun. So if you want to support Keith for his birthday, go subscribe. Check it out. Patreon.com goingwest podcast or it's on Apple Podcasts.
- [02:48]
Heath
Yeah, it's just a little fun thing that we like to do every year for my birthday, little tales from the campground and kind of just spooky outdoor stories.
- [02:56]
Daphne
Yeah, because he loves the outdoors, if you don't already know. That's why we're camping this week up in the Pacific Northwest doing some cabin stuff, some lake stuff. So go wish him a happy birthday because we love him so much.
- [03:09]
Heath
And I love all of you. And without further ado, let's get into today's story.
- [03:13]
Daphne
And I want to say too big shout out to Justin, Olga and Tracy for recommending this one.
- [03:19]
Heath
All right, guys, this is episode 514 of going. Oh, sorry, it's actually, it's actually 515. I'm losing track, man. There's so many episodes. So let's get into it.
- [04:00]
Daphne
In July of 2020. In 2010, a 17 year old girl vanished while walking home from summer school in a quiet Southern California suburb. Her belongings were scattered in a field along her route, but she was nowhere to be found. Days later, the discovery of her body would leave a community shaken and desperate for answers. But with the help of DNA and a disturbing surveillance video, police would find a violent suspect. This is the murder of Norma Lopez. Norma Lopez was born on December 29, 1992 to parents Norma and Martin, and grew up alongside six siblings, Elizabeth, Martin, Vanessa, Jose, Sonia, and Monica, in such a loving family. I mean, her family is described as hardworking, loving and salt of the earth type of people. We love those kind of people. And Norma herself was known for being sweet, kind, and a good friend with her high school peers, saying that she was rarely without a smile on her face. Now, as far as interests go, she was also creative and artistic and hoped to study fashion design in college, though sadly, she would never make it there. Norma was born in West Covina, which is a suburb of Los Angeles, but she grew up nearby in the Inland Empire, which is a region of Southern California that is east of Los Angeles and north of San Diego specifically. Her family settled in Moreno Valley, which is about an hour and a half east of Los Angeles. Now, in the summer of 2010, when today's story takes place, 17 year old Norma was preparing for her senior year at Valley View High School, though she had enrolled in some summer classes, too. So on the morning of Wednesday, July 15, 2010, Norma headed to Valley View High School for a biology class. And she was dropped off there by her mom.
- [06:26]
Heath
And remember, obviously this is not typical of the school year, but she's taking a few summer classes to just kind of get ahead.
- [06:32]
Daphne
Yeah, I, I did that too, you know, it works well sometimes. So. And this was. This was only one class, by the way. She didn't have like a full day of classes. It was just one class, you know, not a big deal. So after class, she planned on meeting up with her sister and a friend at her friend's house. As you guys can imagine, for this area, you know, it's very typical for the Inland Empire. This day was set to be scorching hot, especially, you know, this is the summer, but it's such a dry, hot area. So Norma did what many other teenagers at Valley View did, and she cut through an adjacent field to access her friend's neighborhood to save herself some time walking in that very dry heat. Cause Valley View is situated along Nason Street. And Norma walked along Nason until it intersected with Dressea Avenue. And then she cut through a field to get to Cottonwood Avenue, which, by the way, was a well known shortcut for the local students. And Norma likely didn't think anything of it when she did this. She's just cross in a field. She was supposed to be meeting her sister Sonia and her friend at 10am you know, the. The class was in the morning, so she started early and she ended early. But when she didn't show up at the designated time, the girls were instantly concerned, since Norma was actually known to be incredibly punctual and there's no reason her class would run late. This is a high school class. It ends when the bell rings. Why is she not showing up?
- [08:05]
Heath
Right, and it's a quick little jaunt across that field to get to her friend's neighborhood.
- [08:10]
Daphne
Yeah. And especially because this is a summer class, there's no reason that she's hanging back at school. She had a plan, but she didn't show up.
- [08:18]
Heath
So around noon, when Sonya and Norma's friend didn't hear from Norma, they didn't see her. They decided that they were going to walk back to the school along that route, through that field, just to see why Norma was running behind and just hoping that they might bump into her. But to their dismay, along the route, they found signs of a struggle in that field. That immediately raised red flags in their heads, because Sonia described seeing her sister's purse and its contents scattered on the ground, which gave her the sinking realization that she had likely been attacked and most likely been abducted. Left behind with her purse were her earrings and a binder from school as well. And the public would later learn that there was male DNA left behind on Norma's earrings. Sonia called 911 in a panic upon finding all of this. Of course concerned for her sister's safety, 17 year old Norma was a rule follower and had never tried to run away. And obviously with what they found, they just knew that that wasn't the case at all here and law enforcement actually agreed with them.
- [09:27]
Daphne
I'm so glad because this really is so obviously an attack and abduction. Like you're saying, like these are clear signs and they are following those signs.
- [09:36]
Heath
Yeah. So thankfully, detectives took the situation seriously and the case was considered a kidnapping right away. Fearing a stranger abduction, police jumped into action and set up roadblocks in the area, just hoping to speak to someone who had seen or possibly heard something. They also sent out investigators on horseback and the FBI became involved immediately since, you know, they knew that her abductor could cross county lines or possibly even state lines with her. The field was combed for evidence and the items that Norma left behind were carefully removed from the scene to keep the integrity of the items for those DNA tests that would later prove just to be a major help in this case. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco described the harrowing first few days of the investigation by saying, originally, I felt like I failed the family for not finding her. This was a boogeyman case. This was a truly innocent girl. For a week, I didn't go home. I slept in my office. If I slept. But sadly, the hopes of her family and community depleted when five days later, remains were found in the area. And although it took a while to confirm the identity, detectives feared the worst.
- [10:53]
Daphne
On Tuesday, July 20, 2010. So less than a week after Norma vanished, a farmer in the area came across a body in a shady grove of olive trees on Theodore Way. So only about 3 miles or 4.8 kilometers away from where she had disappeared, the teen was found partially nude by this farmer, their body laying face down. So the Riverside County Sheriff's office held a press conference immediately, very closely near the scene of the discovery. As the FBI and sheriff's office surveyed the scene and news helicopters hovered overhead. Because of the level of decomposition at this point, likely due to the hot and dry summer temperatures, as we know, investigators actually couldn't initially even tell if the body was male or female. On the night of the discovery, Police Sergeant Joe Borja announced to the press, Tomorrow at 9am we will be conducting an autopsy and hopefully by then we should at least be able to determine whether or not it's a male or female. Again, it may take anywhere from a day to seven days to actually identify the body positively And I mean, they were really just trying to be as careful as they could here, even though they did, like you were saying, Heath, just have this sinking feeling that it was Norma because it didn't match any other cases in the area. But again, they didn't even know the gender of this person. So they, they had to be really careful. But they, they felt so strongly that it probably was Norma that they even alerted her family of this discovery so that they knew of the possibility. But by the next morning, the medical examiner was able to confirm the identity and Norma's fate because Jil Borja made a subsequent announcement that the remains belonged to 17 year old Norma Lopez. But because of the state of the decomposition, they couldn't even concretely determine a cause of death. So here's all we know. Her neck and face were considered severely degraded, which could have been done by her killer or decomposition alone or bugs or animals. But I will say it is likely from decomp. We also know that she died of homicidal violence, but possible bruising and internal injuries were noted as well as no definitive signs of strangulation, stabbing, gunshot wound, etc. Were found. But the county's chief pathologist, Dr. Mark Fajardo, stated that he suspected strangulation or asphyxiation was likely in her case. And I feel like this makes sense. You know, they have her body. If there's no clear signs of stabbing or a gunshot wound, like an actual wound in her body and her skin is so decomposed, I think that would absolutely make the most sense that that is what they are suspecting happened.
- [13:58]
Heath
Right. And they also didn't determine that there was, you know, blunt force trauma or anything like that. So it had to be something that, you know, had to do with cutting off the airways.
- [14:07]
Daphne
Yeah, like a little more invisible of a wound. Right. So within hours of learning her fate, her friends organized an impromptu candlelight vigil in her honor, which went on for hours so that they could really honor her. Because now they're not looking for her, they're looking for her killer. They know what happened to her and they just need to figure out who did this and why. So speeches were made, memories were shared, and many tears were shed. Thousands of people attended, actually so many people that the event was moved from the front of the school to the football field in order to accommodate all the attendees. One resident said through tears, quote, it's a small town, we love each other. She really didn't deserve this.
- [14:56]
Heath
In an emotional speech, her sister addressed the crowd by saying, quote, I Don't want anyone to go through this. But why her? She had never done anything to anyone. You could have just been walking. Let her just go walking where she was supposed to be going. Just get the touch of heart and turn yourself in. Because you killed her. We want her here. Home. Just turn yourself in. My mom was heartbroken since the first day. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat. She just wished that she could have done something. But obviously, you know, we can't always stop things. They just happen. And right now, at least she's happy that she's somewhere up there with our grandparents that actually passed away a couple of years ago. I had seen her that morning before I left to college. She had come up to borrow my shoes. She just came barging in. I need your shoes. And then she left. That's the last time I saw my sister. It's going to be very hard without her, since we were always so close together, always going partying together. We were never left alone. It was always the three of us. They called us the triplets, even though we were a year apart. Without her, she was always the happy one, Always keeping us together. Well, in the days following the discovery of Norma's body, the community really rallied together, holding multiple vigils, memorials, and walks. Also fundraisers to honor Normal, but also to assist her family in their grief and their mission to get justice for her. And what's so strange here is that it had already been such an awful year for her high school because they had lost three teachers already. So Valley View brought in a crisis response team to talk to the kids who may be struggling with, like, the gravity of the loss and the ones that came before Norma. Now, as you guys can imagine, with all this information, her death had a lasting effect on her community, with many teenagers claiming that they would no longer feel comfortable walking to and from school.
- [16:58]
Daphne
Yeah, I mean, there's a killer on the loose, and right now they have nothing. They don't know if it's a student, if it's somebody Norma knows, if it's a stranger, an adult stranger. Like, I'd be scared, too.
- [17:09]
Heath
Yeah, I mean, I guarantee you none of those kids were walking through that field in the days following Norma's disappearance and murder.
- [17:16]
Daphne
Oh, yeah, I'm sure.
- [17:18]
Heath
Well, some of her friends and peers even made a PSA video urging teenagers, and especially girls, not to walk alone anywhere, calling it Norma's pledge. Several hundred people walked the route that Norma had in her final hours, hoping to raise awareness in the pursuit of justice. So it really seemed like everybody in Moreno Valley just kind of banded together more than they ever had. When authorities spoke with Norma's family, they wondered if it was likely an acquaintance who had done this to her because of the cruel nature of the crime. You know, her just being plucked from that field, murdered so mysteriously, and then left naked in a different field. But they just couldn't imagine who would want to do this.
- [18:01]
Daphne
While the community grieved, the sheriff's department continued their investigation, but kept the details very close to the vest. Like, they refused to divulge key details about her murder, including what they believed the cause of death to be. But Sergeant Joe Borja assuaged the fears of the public by saying, quote, that's common in any homicide, because many times the only people who would know this information are the primary investigators and the suspects themselves. So it wouldn't be very smart to give that out to the media, because if we do locate a suspect and he does have information that nobody else should have, he can't say, hey, I learned this in the media. And of course, we know now that they really didn't have concrete clues on how she died. But that's also important to conceal as well, because they're hoping for a confession. You know, they're hoping someone will tell them.
- [18:55]
Heath
And we see this a lot in a lot of cases where, you know, they really want to protect the integrity of the investigation, so they won't release anything just in hopes that somebody is going to slip up out there.
- [19:08]
Daphne
Well, as we would later come to learn, when questioning potential witnesses and neighbors, investigators were tipped off that a green SUV had been seen in the area at the time that Norma was believed to have been abducted. And one family in the vicinity of her school even turned over home security footage of a green SUV making this rapid U turn and speeding out of the neighborhood that she was last seen in. Which is kind of crazy to me. Like, this is 2010, and this family has a security camera. Like, very.
- [19:40]
Heath
I feel like that's very early progressive. Yeah, yeah.
- [19:44]
Daphne
But amazing that they have this, because if they're matching it up with the time that she was abducted and killed, they're like, could she be in that suv? So with this, investigators believe this family may have unknowingly caught. The aftermath of the abduction, because this clip came just 30 seconds after Norma can be seen walking by on this very camera. Because they didn't just catch the suv, they caught Norma. Then about a month and a half after the murder came the first major development in the form of A person of interest. On August 31, 2010, a search warrant was served to the home of a local family who were on the radar of investigators. And this home was located on the 26000 block of Pegasus Way, so just a four minute drive from Norma school. A neighbor of theirs named Sharon Hemphill reported there were a lot of cars, police cars, the forensic truck. They were pretty much here all day.
- [20:49]
Heath
Well, that day, while the search was ongoing, someone was detained by the police. But this was actually on charges of obstructing a peace officer during the execution of the search warrant. Eric Mswawa. Mswaswa. Sorry, that's a really hard name to say. Eric Mswaswa, who was a resident of this home, was actually not a person of interest, but later accused the police of exercising unnecessary and excessive force and he was the one who was arrested. So, yeah, not, not related to Norma's case, but someone else in this household was. Now, Eric claimed that he was tased multiple times during the execution of the search warrant and that he even broke his ankle struggling with the police. Now, the real person of interest in the case of Norma's murder was actually Eric's stepson, 25 year old Lazarus Tasby. Lazarus worked as a teacher's aide for special education students at Valley View High School. Again, this is where Norma went to school between March of 2007 and November of 2009. And again, Norma went missing in July of 2010. But after a slight scandal, he felt like he should resign, hence why he did so the previous November. But also, Lazarus was arrested on October 29, 2009, just before resigning on charges of solicitation of prostitution. And guess what? He happened to drive a green SUV. On the morning of Norma's abduction, he was in the vicinity of the school because he and his mom and stepdad lived just three blocks away. However, the family claimed that at no point while the search warrant was being carried out were police actually speaking with or interviewing Lazarus or his family. But instead, they actually just turned the house like upside down, looking for any evidence that they could find, which led to the clash that I just talked about between law enforcement officers and Eric. Now, in the aftermath of the incident, the family obtained an attorney named Miles Clark, who explained that Eric asked to see the search warrant as it was being carried out, but that officers told him no.
- [23:05]
Daphne
But at this point, they could not pin anything on Lazarus. But Eric was again charged with obstructing and resisting a public officer, and investigators removed several papers from the home during their search. They also towed away Lazarus green Mitsubishi SUV to search for forensic evidence that could potentially link the car to Norma and, you know, see if it matched what they had on surveillance footage. When asked about the family, neighbor Sharon Hemphill alleged that Lazarus was a, quote, very nice young man of integrity. I don't know anything about him personally, but just seeing him and living next door to him, he's a good kid. I don't believe any of what has been said thus far. I think it's just a big misunderstanding. I really do, honestly. The family attorney, Miles Clark, maintained no one in this home or in the family is responsible for Norma Lopez's death. And they actually filed a lawsuit which cites damages in the form of medical expenses and lost wages, you know, because of the months of work that Eric missed at the shipping company where he worked due to his arrest, as well as for pain and suffering. But police allege that Eric was hostile from the start, demanding to see the search warrant, which they are not legally obligated to show him, I guess, as well as generally resisting their presence. When he stopped listening to their commands and started resisting them, they attempted to roll him over and put his hands on his back and he yelled, don't touch me. Physically fighting back against them. And I mean, like, this is such a mess and totally getting in the way of Norma's case and their search for her killer. So it's hard for me to believe why they wouldn't just show the warrant to the guy who lives there. Like, keep the focus.
- [25:02]
Heath
Yeah, I kind of see this being like a negative situation on both sides. Like, Eric probably shouldn't have been fighting back against the police. I understand, though, why he did, because it's like, okay, you're not willing to show me proof that you have a warrant to come search my home. Also, I think just because, like, he doesn't know if Lazarus is responsible, maybe he thinks so.
- [25:25]
Daphne
Well, he has no. Yeah, he has no idea why they're in his house. So it's like, yeah, tell me why you're in my house. Like, flipping my shit upside down.
- [25:32]
Heath
Yeah, so like you said, it's just. It was just a mess.
- [25:35]
Daphne
Exactly. And especially because Lazarus DNA was tested against the DNA found at the crime scene, and it actually was not found to be a match. So 25 year old Lazarus was eventually cleared as a suspect, and all the chaos led detectives right back to square one, essentially.
- [25:55]
Heath
So, yeah, it was kind of all for nothing. I mean, I get why they did it. They see this green SUV in that neighborhood, it's peeling out of the neighborhood 30 seconds after Norma's scene.
- [26:06]
Daphne
And, you know, with Lazarus's previous arrest, with the fact that he was an aide at the school, like it made sense. But because he wasn't guilty, the entire family is like, oh, my God, what are you doing in our house? And they wouldn't explain.
- [26:21]
Heath
Yeah.
- [26:22]
Daphne
To any degree.
- [26:23]
Heath
So at the end of the day, it just seemed like it was not. Not a waste of time. But it didn't get them anywhere, really.
- [26:30]
Daphne
So Miles Clark reiterated, in no way is Eric or his wife Wanda or his son Lazarus responsible for the death of anyone. Thus, the search for Norma's killer continued.
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Heath
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There's always a trade in.
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- [31:10]
Heath
Before that break, we talked about how Lazarus was off the hook. They found out that his DNA did not match what they had found on those those earrings of nor. And unfortunately, at this point, progress Just really slowed. So her community did what they could to commemorate Norma's short life in June of the next year. So, 2011, Norma's sister Elizabeth accepted an honorary diploma on Norma's behalf, with cheers from her friends and schoolmates on what should have been the day of her high school graduation. The investigation continued, but detectives definitely had their work cut out for them. They had DNA, obviously, as we know, but hadn't found a match yet and hadn't found the car from that video. But after over a year, a surprise arrest came, along with irrefutable evidence. The male DNA that had been found on Norma's discarded earrings matched someone whose DNA was uploaded into CODIS after a domestic violence charge that occurred before her murder. In early 2010, months before Norma was killed, a Moreno Valley man named Jesse Perez Torres was arrested after a domestic violence incident and asked to give up a DNA sample. So after extensive testing and biding their time to ensure an arrest, the sample was confirmed to match that of the earring left behind at the scene of Norma's abduction. Linking him to the crime. Without a doubt.
- [32:45]
Daphne
Because obviously there is no reason for anybody else's DNA to be on her earring. Like, it's not like it was on the sleeve of her shirt. Especially a strange male's DNA, like, this has to be her killer.
- [32:57]
Heath
Yeah, and I'm sure they asked the family, they're like, do you. Do you know a Jesse Torres? And they're like, no, we don't know who the hell that guy is. And guess what, guys, it just gets even better. Because at the time of Norma's murder, 34 year old Jesse was driving a green Nissan Xterra SUV and lived just one block from the school, close enough that he could watch the students coming and going. And I know you guys are probably thinking that, you know, all the pieces are right there in front of police's eyes. And why couldn't they have figured this out a lot quicker? Well, we always talk about how suspects or killers making big changes following a case is very suspicious. It is. And that's exactly what this asshole did. Because within weeks of Norma's murder, Jesse sold that green Xterra and relocated to Long Beach, California, which is about an hour and a half west of Moreno Valley.
- [33:51]
Daphne
I wonder when exactly they had made the DNA connection and then how long it took to concrete or concretely make that match. Enough to get the arrest warrant. Because it does feel kind of shocking that his DNA was in CODIS before she was killed. And it still wasn't until Over a year later that he was arrested.
- [34:11]
Heath
Yeah, I mean, I wonder that, too, because Jesse was arrested in October of 2011. So, yeah, that's. That's a year and three months in. But when asked about his level of certainty, prosecutor Michael Sacchio reported, quote, there were a lot of people looked at because the Sheriff's Department got a lot of information, tips, people that want to help, people that are angry at other people that might give false tips. So there's a lot of people that were interviewed, looked at, investigated. As far as my personal confidence, I have enough confidence in the case that I believe we have met the correct legal standard, that we owe the defendant, the community, and also the victim's family, and noticed that there's a reasonable likelihood of conviction.
- [34:57]
Daphne
And a lot of people share our questions. So let's get into what Michael Sacchio said when he was questioned about why it had taken over a year for his arrest to be made. He said, quote, the Riverside Sheriff's Department has been working continuously on this case for 15 months, interviewing maybe 1,000 different people, or at least that many. And what finally led to an arrest recently was the fact that the Sheriff's department received a hit from the DNA database that identified our defendant as a suspect in this case. Coupled with other information we had, it was sufficient to go ahead and begin the court proceedings. We took additional time on this case because it's such an important case to our community. And when we're dealing with DNA, there's always a lot of information that just because there might be a DNA hit, all that does for us is point out a possible suspect. But with so much additional information, by the time we received the paperwork in the case, there just wasn't time to make a fully recent decision to file. Well, after his arrest, of course, Jesse entered a plea of not guilty. His lawyers alleged that the earring had been mishandled and that his DNA had found its way onto the earrings by mistake. Which. Yeah, how we covered a case recently, I cannot remember which one. Somehow it's escaping me where someone's was this Carol Kennedy, where there was DNA found on her body that belonged to a mysterious, unknown person. And they're thinking, oh, is there somebody else or somebody entirely separate involved in this case? And that DNA actually belonged to the man whose autopsy was conducted right before hers. So in that kind of situation, I understand, but he had, you know, his DNA was submitted into CODIS months before she was murdered, and then over a year before it was even tested. So how would that happen here?
- [36:55]
Heath
Also, the earrings were left behind in the field, they weren't left on Norma's body. So you know what I mean. So if they conducted an autopsy and also like, you know, he was not a deceased person, so his DNA wouldn't have been transferred that way.
- [37:09]
Daphne
It was way too separate.
- [37:10]
Heath
We're talking about a 34 year old man having his DNA on a 17 year old girl's earrings.
- [37:16]
Daphne
But also his DNA would not have been in the lab when her autopsy was being conducted. Or like you're saying, it wasn't even on her body. They were left in the field. So when that DNA on the earring was being tested, his DNA would have not been in the lab. So, I mean, yeah, they are grasping at straws at 100%. So early on, there were rumors that Jesse's case may be a death penalty case. Due to the nature of the crime and also the special circumstance of abducting Norma before her murder. And because the death penalty was on the table, court proceedings took an exceedingly long amount of time. On the day of his first arraignment, Jesse was assigned his public defender shortly before they were due in court. So they requested a continuance. And this went on for years. Given the circumstances, the court proceedings really lagged, which was, as you can imagine, so tough on Norma's family and the community who just wanted to know what happened and why and if the guy they caught really did do it. Well, it wasn't until February of 2019, nearly eight years after his arrest, that his trial finally commenced.
- [38:34]
Heath
Well, in Jesse's defense, attorney Darrell Exum offered up a sob story to the court. Darrell explained that Jesse had grown up mostly without a father because his dad spent the majority of his childhood in prison. He also alleged that Jesse was slightly developmentally disabled with an IQ of just 68, which is considered extremely low with 90 to 109 being average. So of course they're gonna pull this whole, well, he's dumb, so he didn't, you know, he didn't know what he was doing. He also asked the court not to get caught up in the heartbreaking testimony from Norma's loved ones and instead consider his client's background and circumstances.
- [39:14]
Daphne
Oh, his domestic violence background.
- [39:16]
Heath
Yeah. Which is so fucked up anyway. It's like, oh, yeah, don't listen to the sob stories of Norma's family. It's like, no, dude, we're not.
- [39:23]
Daphne
No, I get that to a degree of like, don't automatically blame him because of the situation, like, somebody did it. It doesn't mean he did it. But it's like, dude, then just say listen.
- [39:35]
Heath
Then just say listen to the evidence. You know what I mean?
- [39:37]
Daphne
It's so true.
- [39:38]
Heath
Well, Daryl addressed the court saying, quote, I'm not offering you excuses. I'm offering you explanations. This is not the time for excuses. This is the time for you to understand who he is, to give a punishment commensurate with the person. Jesse appeared largely unmoved during the testimonies, though he did occasionally cover his face with his hand and was known to compulsively sip from his cup of water. Not sure why that's nervous tick. Yeah, I think it was. Well, by contrast, Deputy District Attorney Michael Kearse described that Jesse possessed, quote, brazen evilness in his cruel, careless, and impulsive actions on the day of Norma's murder. And remember, he had prior offenses. This isn't some good guy who was accused of something out of character. Because aside from the early 2010 domestic abuse charge, prosecutors also detailed an assault that Jesse had committed in September of 2011. So only a month before his arrest, proving that he was just unfit for society. And the star witness for the prosecution was the victim of this assault, a sex worker known only as Rose. So at the time of this attack, Rose was apparently homeless and doing sex work just to get by, alleging that she had been transient for most of the last decade. She didn't shy away from her criminal record either, openly admitting that she had amassed 16 convictions, including three for sex work and 10 for drug related crimes. So nothing violent here. But Rose described Jessie as a misogynist who possessed a hatred of women and a evil heart. On the day of the assault on her, she had been smoking marijuana and drinking a little bit. So she popped into a liquor store called Mike's Liquor, located on PCH or the Pacific coast highway in Long beach, just in order to stock up. She bought a drink and went outside to enjoy it. When Jesse, driving a brown SUV by that time, pulled up in the parking lot, by Rose's account, he came at her with a knife, holding it to her neck and dragging her into the car through the passenger side. She says that she screamed, but he yelled back that she needed to shut up, and she did. He then drove her to his apartment, which was nearby on East Burnett street, and dragged her out of the driver's side door and into his apartment, which was located right there on the first floor.
- [42:10]
Daphne
There, he held her captive, tied her up, and sexually assaulted her. But what made this attack even more egregious was the fact that he both videotaped and photographed it, Rose recalled in front of the court, quote, all I remember is getting hit in the back of my head. When I woke up, my clothes was off. I was tied up from my wrist to my ankles, and I had tape over my eyes. Through tears, she offered up the gruesome details of what happened to her. But when the judge, Bernard J. Schwartz, asked her if she needed to take a break, she said, I don't need a break. I'm not scared of him anymore. But naturally, when Jesse's defense attorney had a chance to discredit her, he took it, telling the court, quote, when you guys hear about her record, you will understand that what Jesse is guilty of is seeking a prostitute and nothing else. You won't believe her. He then proceeded to grill Rose about why she hadn't called for help when Jesse had allegedly chatted with a woman in front of his apartment for about, like, 30 minutes while Rose had been tied up inside. But Rose snapped back, you can only do so much when your mouth is tied up with duct tape. When he tried to portray her as a liar who had been hired by Jesse that day, she claimed that she had not been working at that point. And there was no ambiguity in her retelling of the story, by the way, that suggested that Jesse could have been anything but her captor. She was very clear on her details. But then Darryl grilled her about a video where she could be seen sitting on his couch, fully clothed and seeming relaxed and willing to be pictured on camera while talking to him. And Rose argued, I'm a survivor. I know how to stay alive. She concluded her testimony with, quote, norma Lopez is dead, but that monster lives, and that's just wrong. Norma's family was moved to tears by this statement. And after it, there was very little that Daryl could do to paint his client as a sympathetic figure. Because even if you just look at him and say, okay, he's just a piece of. But he didn't kill Norma. His DNA is on her earrings. He lived a block away from the scene. He drove the same vehicle in the.
- [44:38]
Heath
Security footage, and he's known to abduct women. Yeah.
- [44:42]
Daphne
And he's violent. So it's like, come on, guys. Like, he's. It's not only like, he's the best we have, it's like he did this.
- [44:49]
Heath
Literally. Lock him up, throw away the key forever.
- [44:51]
Daphne
But at this point, you know, their only chance was that because of the decomposition, a cause of death was not able to be determined. But ultimately, the certainty was on the side of Norma and her loved ones. So on March 13, 2019, almost nine years after Norma Lopez's death, Jesse was convicted of her murder with the special circumstance of committing the murder during the commission of a felony because she was kidnapped. Predictably, Jesse had no visible reaction to his conviction whatsoever. In an attempt to avoid the death penalty, his defense attorney stressed to the court the gravity of pitting someone to death, even though he was just convicted of murdering a teenage girl. But still they are urging them to do the just thing, which they said was putting him in prison for life, a sentence that would still bring justice to Norma, but would bring closure without taking another life.
- [45:56]
Heath
However, at Jesse's sentencing, Judge Bernard J. Schwartz reported, quote, the killing of Norma Lopez and the dumping of her body like a piece of garbage can only be described as disgusting. The defendant displays an utter disregard for human life and is a threat to society. No question about that. Judge Schwartz also shared an anecdote with the court that had been passed along by Norma's family, which was that Norma's youngest sister didn't understand why Norma had left so suddenly and kept questioning her siblings and parents if it was because Norma didn't love them anymore and not because she had met such a violent end, like she offered up the contents of her piggy bank if it would bring her sister back, which is so heartbreaking. On December 4, 2020, Judge Schwartz announced to the courtroom, people don't just live on this planet alone. They have family members, friends. When someone is taken from them, it's tragic. It is hereby ordered that you shall receive the death penalty. District Attorney Mike Hestrin reported. I think of 17 year old Norma Lopez and that she had her entire life ahead of her. The brutality and callousness of this killer shocks the conscience. I think the sentence is a just one and we are on the long road toward long awaited justice. Ironically, on the exact same day that Jesse was convicted of murder, March 13, 2019, an executive order was issued that put a moratorium on carrying out death row sentences in California. So the state has not put a prisoner to death since 2006. Death sentences are also appealed automatically. So there will be a lengthy legal battle ahead of us, even now, over six years later. But for now, 49 year old Jesse remains imprisoned in Riverside county with an unsure fate. Though we're sure he's gonna be there for a very, very long time, if not forever. Norma's mom, whose name is also Norma, wrote a letter that her daughter, Norma's sister read aloud to the courtroom which said, I took Norma to school that day, not knowing that it was the last time I will ever see her again. That's the day this nightmare started. Without Norma, my house was filled with pain and sadness. In my house, there is no happiness like how it was when Norma was here. Everywhere in the house there was laughter and happiness. It was beautiful. But that all ended the day that Norma did not return home to us. Norma's sister then addressed the court saying, they say that time heals everything, but it doesn't. We just had to learn to go on with our lives and live with the pain, even though it isn't easy to do.
- [48:58]
Daphne
Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.
- [49:02]
Heath
Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. It is amazing that this guy is going to be in prison for the rest of his life. And as I always say, he is a piece of shit.
- [49:15]
Daphne
He is. If you guys want to see photos of Norma and photos from this case, head over to our socials. We're on Instagram at Going West Podcast and we're also on Facebook. I also want to say remember it was Heath's birthday yesterday, Thursday, June 26th. We love he so much. So go wish him a happy birthday over on socials if you didn't already. Another thing. Again, we did that. Super fun Tales from the Campground bonus episode that you guys can subscribe to along with almost 140 other bonus episodes on patreon.com goingwest podcast or Apple subscriptions.
- [49:52]
Heath
Also, just want to let you guys know that Going west is going on tour in September. Tickets are available right now. You can go to goingwestpod.com/tour to pick up your tickets. We're going to be in Denver, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. It's going to be amazing. You do not want to miss it.
- [50:10]
Daphne
It is truly going to be so fun. So get your tickets. Thank you so much to all the people that already have and we will see you guys on Tuesday.
- [50:20]
Heath
All right guys, so for everybody out.
- [50:21]
Daphne
There in the world, don't be a strange.
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