First day of testimony in retrial for accused Sierra LaMar killer

Prosecutor O'Brien Kenney called a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy to the stand as the first witness in the retrial of Antolin Garcia-Torres. Fabian DeSantiago, now a sergeant, says he arrived at Sierra's home around 6.30 p.m. the day she disappeared in March 2012. Sierra's mother, Marlene, was frantic, emotional, and stressed. So was her father, Steve, and Marlene's boyfriend, Rick Gardner. The DA wanted to create that sense of terror that Marlene Lamar felt when she could not find Sierra. That's very impactful for this jury, just to see what a parent goes through in a situation like this. DeSantiago testified to searching the house and area by foot, then expanding the search with other deputies in patrol vehicles, all in a driving rainstorm. DeSantiago says he started calling Sierra's cell as soon as he reached her house. She never answered, but he kept calling for 10 hours well after his shift ended. He says he felt compelled to go above and beyond because he has a son the same age as Sierra. This was not a normal missing juvenile case, Santiago said from the stand. There were no leads, nothing indicating anyone knew where Sierra was. It's not typical for a teen to go missing without someone having some idea of where they went. Antolin Garcia Torres was convicted in 2017 of kidnapping Sierra Lamar as she walked to a bus stop near her Morgan Hill home and then killing her. Her body has never been found and his conviction was later overturned. Defense attorney Al Lopez, during cross-examination, focused on DeSantiago's actions during the subsequent search and the role the extreme weather, wind and a downpour, may have played in evidence collection. The defense is going to go after crime scene handling very strongly and say if things weren't done properly at the outset, nothing down the road as to what happened here can be trusted. Late Tuesday, prosecutors called Claire Crawford as a witness. She was a friend of Sierra's since the seventh grade and testified while wiping back tears there was no reason Sierra would ever abandon her family and friends. It was emotional testimony in a case both the prosecution and defense agree is a tragedy. In San Jose, Jesse Gary, KTVU Fox 2 News.