NORMA LOPEZ - 17 yo (2010) - Moreno Valley (E of Riverside) CA

Break in Norma Lopez's death elusive

10:52 PM PST on Saturday, December 25, 2010

Moreno Valley Police Chief John Anderson keeps a photo of Norma Lopez on his desk, a reminder of a case he is intent on solving. More than five months after the Moreno Valley teenager was
kidnapped and slain, her killer has not been identified. Norma’s death rocked the community, drawing thousands of people to her funeral and sparking an impromptu vigil at the football
field of the high school where she had attended class the morning
she vanished. Months later, rock bands organized the “Never
Again” benefit concert in her memory as a fundraiser for the
family.


“This investigation is one of those that stand out, and there’s
not a day that goes by that I don’t think about this case,”
Anderson said. “We’re still looking at leads, and we haven’t
reached the point where we don’t have anything to look at. Our
goal is to solve this case.” Detectives say they
are sifting through evidence and investigating several leads.
They still await results of forensic tests that might yield DNA
evidence from the scene. Such tests, sent to a state lab, can
take up to a year to complete. It’s a contrast to
the days after Norma’s disappearance and the discovery of her
body, when the investigation was intense. Days
after her body was found, police and homicide investigators held
checkpoints around the high school and the field where she was abducted,
searching for any witnesses from that afternoon. Detectives interviewed nearly every one of the city’s 220
registered sex offenders, but each was ruled out as a suspect.
They also didn’t find a suspect among her known acquaintances or
anyone from her past. They now say the attack was random. In September, police searched the home of a former teacher’s
aide, but he was not arrested and is not considered a suspect.
KIDNAPPED On July 15, Norma,
17, was walking home from summer school classes at Valley View
High School en route to a friend’s house. Police say she took a
shortcut through a dirt field to Cottonwood Avenue.
That’s where detectives believe she was abducted. Police found signs
of a struggle, and Norma’s backpack was in the dirt. A green SUV
was seen speeding from the area. A farmer
found Norma’s body about five days later in a grove of trees off
Theodore Avenue, about two miles from the field.
Detectives have kept details of the evidence and investigation secret;
releasing such information, such as a cause of death or whether
Norma had been sexually assaulted, would hinder the
investigation, they say. Authorities say some crucial details may
be known only by detectives and the person who abducted her.
“We’re doing every last thing possible to solve this
case,” Anderson said. “I think it will happen, and I can’t say
when, but when you keep working these cases, you make your own
breaks.” SIFTING LEADS The
last major development in the case was in September, when detectives
searched a home a few blocks from the field where Norma was
abducted. Police towed a green Mitsubishi Montero
SUV from the home and served a search warrant, seeking to question
Lazarus Tasby and obtain a DNA sample from him. Tasby had worked as a
teacher's aide at Norma’s school from March 2007 to November 2009. Tasby has not been named as a suspect but hasn’t been cleared,
either, said Sgt. Todd Torrenti, the Riverside County homicide
sergeant who is leading the investigation.
He said Tasby wasn’t home when the house was searched but was
questioned later. Authorities would not say whether a DNA sample
was taken. “We are looking at any evidence that would eliminate him as a suspect,” Torrenti said. Tasby’s stepfather, Eric Muswaswa, was arrested at the time on
suspicion of obstruction of justice when he resisted officers
serving a search warrant, but he has not been charged. Muswaswa,
who suffered a broken ankle at the time of the search, accused
police of excessive force. The family’s SUV was
returned weeks later, and they said they have had no contact with
police since the home was searched. “We maintain
our family had nothing to do with what happened to the Lopez
family, and we sympathize with the family in their loss,” Muswaswa
said. The investigation has led to thousands of tips from the public, most unfounded and some deliberately false. Still, detectives say they continue to make progress as they sift
through evidence and wait for forensic and DNA testing to come
back from the backlogged state Department of Justice crime lab.
Authorities are quick to rebuff critics who claim
the case has been ignored. In the scope of a homicide
investigation, a case open for five months is far from cold,
Torrenti said. Not that investigators don’t wish for a speedier
resolution. “This strikes close to home when you
have kids, and I would love to get closure for the family,”
Torrenti said. “How do you expect someone to be patient when a
family member’s been killed? They want closure, but they
understand it takes time.” ‘NORMA’S PLEDGE’ Norma’s family speaks weekly with detectives, but police say they
have been able to provide little information. The news vans and
crowd of reporters outside the family’s home have cleared. Family
members have declined to talk about the case in recent months.
A large wooden cross stands off the beaten dirt
road where Norma’s body was found. It reads, “Norma Angelica.”
Dried flowers, scattered candles and teddy bears, now sodden with
rain, surround the cross. A Facebook group
of nearly 3,000 people still posts messages of condolences to Norma’s
family almost daily and communicates with Norma’s oldest sister,
Elizabeth. Elizabeth and her sister Sonia both have
appeared on Moreno Valley public television and handed out
bracelets around school for “Norma’s Pledge.” The vow states, “I
look around. I don’t walk alone. I report suspicious activity.”
Several community groups have organized
neighborhood watch programs and escorts for children walking
home. But parents still worry about their children’s safety. Last month, a Valley View High School student said a man tried to
lure her into his vehicle while she was walking home alone, but
she was able to run to safety. The incident was not linked to
Norma’s case. The Moreno Valley Unified School
District has increased security around Valley View and alerted
staff to be on the lookout for similar encounters. The district
is working with the city on a permanent memorial for Norma. “I think when you have an incident with that type of consequence,
everyone’s on edge,” Moreno Valley Unified interim
Superintendent Nick Ferguson said. “I think it’s tapered off
some, but the vigilance is still there. We don’t want to be
lulled into a sleeping sense of security.” Reach John Asbury at 951-763-3451 or jasbury@PE.com

http://www.pe.com/localnews/morenovalley/stories/PE_News_Local_D_norma26.4e368a4a.html

Hello, I've been following this case ever since it blew up on the news. Except let me tell you something about Moreno Valley. It is a wasted city, with lost residents. I only lived here for about a year now and to tell you it is quite boring out here. During the whole summer months, people were all "yeah let's catch the killer" and "we need to protect our children". The saddest thing to say is that the city was only doing everything for show. And then following into September, everyone went silent and left the case alone. No words or anything.

Norma Lopez was abducted in a desolate field that is surrounded by a hill and houses it's on cottonwood ave. about 300 yards westbound from Nason St., the school is about 1/4 to 3/4 of a mile away from the abduction site. There are two accessible foot routes towards the field, I am drawing up the theory that she enter the field through Dracaea Ave. 300 yards away from Nason St.

Then she was abducted on the cottonwood ave. exit, if you notice though there are houses right in front of the field that are facing the field. Many people say that she was heading home, but the police said that she was on her way to meet up with her sister and friend at the friend's house. Okay, so she is abducted on cottonwood ave., there are signs of a struggle left behind along with some of her belongings.
Now this is the thing where it gets weird, during 10am - 2pm the traffic is sort of bipolar down Nason st., but Nason St. does lead into the shopping center northbound from the abduction site. On the opposite side where Moreno Beach Dr. is, the traffic is always moderate between those hours. But this is taken upon research I've done during my fall semester. Maybe during the summer it could've been different, because of Lake Perris and everyone is off from school, I won't be able to say until this summer when I survey the street flow.

Now someone saw a green SUV leaving near or around the abduction site, those reports have been contradicting. It is impossible for someone to report the SUV and not know what model it was, even the authorities could draw up every single model made and color it in all shades of green that manufactures use. There have reports that it was a ford suv, the authorities have no information other than it was a green suv.

So then nothing new is heard from Norma besides the same things over and over again, until they discovered the body. They found it about 150 yards Northbound from Dracaea Ave. on Theodore St. It was heavily decomposed due to the massive heatwave we had during that whole week. It wasn't over 100 degrees, it was near that around 93-99, but yeah.

After the confirmation of the body, the whole city went into media frenzy mode. They began having all types of outcries for justice, MVPD and RSD began going after the 60+ sexual predators that reside in the city and some that reside near the city. It was nice that we showed such support for the Lopez family, especially during their darkest hour, and it made me proud to have moved to a city where the residents united on all fronts when one of our youth went out in such a horrific way. Then during this time somehow people began making up rumors about the way Norma's body was found. Some of those rumors stated that she was mutilated and parts were taken off, then that led to whole dad was in the cartel and that they had done this because he owed money.

None of this was true, there was no info release on the body's condition, besides that it was heavily decomposed. The whole cartel thing, the family does not strike me as a cartel family would. Because the dad gave his face to the public and so did the rest of the family. That would've automatically placed a target mark on the household and the whole Mexican Mafia reason will not work either, because LA EME has a strong code against the murdering of children, they consider an individual a child up to the age of 18 or if they are males it's the same unless they are gang bangers then it's open season if you do something against them.

Then the funeral pass, there was even more of an outcry for justice. Then this the point where the city begins to close up on this case and within time everything goes quiet until the warrant was served up on September 1st. The whole thing was that a young 24 year old male owned a green suv and he was connected by the fact that he worked at Valley View High so it was a big coincidence. Then once again the authorities keep their mouth shut and then it goes dead, the town kept ever since the funeral. No speaks about this case anymore, I've been everywhere in this city and no one speaks of anything. There has been rumors that have been promoted to the truth, but in reality there is no true answer for now, maybe the killer(s) rest within my community within my town, maybe he was a or they were a drifter that came through just to scare us.....but none of us will know until they catch them. Until then, I'll continue my research and hopefully come up on something the cops maybe miss or maybe discover something new.

If you are asking that I've done my research, yes I have and to say it all. I am Robert Graysmith and this case is the Zodiac. So yeah

Thanks for the interesting info Robert. I'll just update this thread with the latest info I can find and please do the same if you see any news in the future.

Jan 15 2011
MORENO VALLEY -- Saturday
marked six-months since the abduction and murder of 17-year-old Norma
Angelica Lopez, the Moreno Valley girl whose case mobilized a community
and now ``eats'' at the investigators working to solve it.Since
Norma's disappearance and death on July 15, Riverside County sheriff's
investigators have followed up ``hundreds, if not thousands'' of
potential leads in the case, but none have resulted in a resolution --
to the frustration of everyone involved, according to sheriff's Capt.
John Anderson, the chief of police for Moreno Valley. ``It's one
of those cases that, until it gets solved, it haunts you,'' Anderson
told City News Service. ``Here you have a totally innocent young girl
with a lot of life ahead of her, a promising future, and she's killed.
It's the sort of thing that eats at your heart. We want to solve this --
badly.'' Anderson said that while the amount of resources
devoted full-time to the case has been cut sharply, detectives from
Moreno Valley -- which contracts with the sheriff's department for law
enforcement services -- and the sheriff's Central Homicide Unit continue
to scrutinize any and all prospective leads. ``I can safely
say we are working this case actively,'' the police chief said. ``We
haven't reached the point where we have nothing else to look at.''
Anderson said law enforcement identified several ``persons of
interest'' early in the investigation. ``But those didn't pane out,'' he
said. One of them was a 25-year-old Moreno Valley resident
whose questioning by detectives in early September generated a stir when
his stepfather allegedly attempted to interfere with sheriff's deputies
examining the young man's green sport utility vehicle. A green
pickup truck or SUV was reported speeding away from the location of
Norma's abduction. But on reflection, Anderson said, there's no
certainty that the vehicle and the kidnapping are related. ``We have no eyewitnesses to what happened,'' the lawman said. ``That makes things extremely difficult.''
The police chief would not disclose whether Norma was sexually
assaulted. But he acknowledged that all sex registrants who live in the
region had been ``looked at pretty thoroughly.'' Under
California Penal Code section 290, convicted sex offenders -- from
flashers to rapists -- are required to keep law enforcement informed
about where they're residing. ``We continue to go out there and
shake the bushes and try to find people we initially might have
missed,'' Anderson said. ``You never know what you'll get. We had one
person who said he had seen something, but after spending a considerable
amount of time with us, he said `maybe I imagined it.''' In
the weeks after the murder, deputies set up checkpoints and handed out
fliers, hoping to generate clues. Anderson said thousands of calls came
into a 24-hour tip line, but there was nothing conclusive. Detectives
walked the roughly 2.5 miles between where Norma was taken and where her
body was disposed, searching for evidence, he said. A
construction site about 250 yards away from where the remains were found
held some promise initially, after investigators learned there were
security cameras at the site. ``A detective spent the better part of a day reviewing those tapes,'' Anderson said. Unfortunately, the cameras were focused on high-dollar industrial equipment parked there overnight.
Norma was headed to a friend's house in the 27300 block of Cottonwood
Avenue when she disappeared. She had attended summer classes that
morning at Valley View High School and was using a shortcut through an
open field when she was grabbed. Personal items strewn around the area
pointed to a struggle. In the ensuing days, hundreds of
concerned residents organized a search, and a reward was offered for her
safe return. On the afternoon of July 20, a resident preparing to mow
his lawn on Theodore Street, in a remote area of east Moreno Valley,
stumbled onto the teenager's remains. According to Anderson, investigators combed the location for tire tracks and other possible evidence, but turned up little. Vigils and a series of benefits to assist the Lopez family were held over the next month. Anderson said he meets regularly with Norma's parents, Martin and Norma Lopez, sharing what information he can.
``I keep a picture of her on my desk,'' the police chief said. ``I
had seasoned veterans in this office emotionally distraught over what
happened. We want to solve this, at least to bring some sort of peace of
mind to the family. We could use a break.'' Anyone with more information about the case was urged to call sheriff's Investigator James Merrill at (951) 486-6700.

http://www.kesq.com/news/26504191/detail.html

By the way, did you see we have a new case of a missing girl in Riverside that I just started a thread for today?
http://www.justice4caylee.org/t10576-mary-jan-gieling-16-yo-riverside-nth-east-corona-ca

There was activity at Norma's abduction site today when I drove by. Someone had a video camera, although it did not appear to be the media. The 2 vehicles there were not marked. There were about 8 young people there.

VERY INTERESTING!!, Its about 40 minutes but a MUST SEE if you have a moment, This must have been what you had seen going on RedHead

The MP team heads to Moreno Valley to work on the Lopez case.

tammers1212 wrote:VERY INTERESTING!!, Its about 40 minutes but a MUST SEE if you have a moment, This must have been what you had seen going on RedHead

The MP team heads to Moreno Valley to work on the Lopez case.

Wow Tammers, I think this is what I saw. And the building they think something happened in is at Cottonwood (the street of the abduction site) and Moreno Beach. It's an old and abandoned industrial-type building.

RedHead wrote:

tammers1212 wrote:VERY INTERESTING!!, Its about 40 minutes but a MUST SEE if you have a moment, This must have been what you had seen going on RedHead

The MP team heads to Moreno Valley to work on the Lopez case.

Wow Tammers, I think this is what I saw. And the building they think something happened in is at Cottonwood (the street of the abduction site) and Moreno Beach. It's an old and abandoned industrial-type building.

Yea RedHead you are right, I was looking at that too and it is right there off cottonwood and moreno beach. I lived off Perris and Delphinium for about 6years so Im really familiar with that area and I always remember driving by there thinking how creepy that place looked

tammers1212 wrote:

RedHead wrote:

tammers1212 wrote:VERY INTERESTING!!, Its about 40 minutes but a MUST SEE if you have a moment, This must have been what you had seen going on RedHead

The MP team heads to Moreno Valley to work on the Lopez case.

Wow Tammers, I think this is what I saw. And the building they think something happened in is at Cottonwood (the street of the abduction site) and Moreno Beach. It's an old and abandoned industrial-type building.

Yea RedHead you are right, I was looking at that too and it is right there off cottonwood and moreno beach. I lived off Perris and Delphinium for about 6years so Im really familiar with that area and I always remember driving by there thinking how creepy that place looked

The sad/scary part is that this old building would be on the way from the abduction site to where her body was found.

The family of a Moreno Valley high school
student who was kidnapped and murdered in July 2010 announced that
police have arrested a suspect in the case.
The announcement was made on a Facebook page of the family of Norma
Lopez, 17, who disappeared after leaving summer school. Her body was
found near a wheat field on the eastern edge of town five days later.

"I waited 1 yr and 3 months and my answer that I've been awaiting for
was finally answered I promised this crime wasn't gunna go unanswered
and the fbi didn't fail us....he's been found and he's in jail were
going on trial,'' the family stated on the "Find Norma" Facebook page, created shortly after she was abducted.

Her father, Martin Lopez, confirmed to the Times that police had arrested a suspect.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Joe Borja on
Friday morning said he could not confirm the arrest, but did say an
announcement would be made later this morning.

Riverside County jail records show that deputies arrested a 35-year-old
man in Long Beach on Thursday, charging him with murder and kidnapping,
which was first reported by the Press Enterprise. Jesse Perez Torres is
being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, with
bail set at $1 million.
Lopez's abduction and murder struck fear into parents throughout the
Riverside County town, with police urging students not to walk home by
themselves or through isolated areas.

Lopez was reported missing on July 15, 2010 by her older sister,
Sonja, after she failed to show up at a friend's home following her
summer biology class. She was out of school by 10 a.m. and planned to
meet her older sister and a friend.

Investigators said they found some of Norma's belongings, as well as
signs of a struggle, in a vacant field along Cottonwood Avenue, a
popular shortcut among students.

Lopez's body was found in a grassy field five days later by a
resident doing yardwork in an isolated area just off the 60 Freeway that
is surrounded by vast wheat fields.

At the time, investigators told the family they believe that two or
three people may have been involved in Norma's abduction and murder,
since it would have been hard for one person to grab the 17-year-old in
broad daylight.

Detectives also focused on tracking down the green SUV that was seen
speeding away from the area where Lopez was abducted, expanding the
search across the state.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/norma-lopez.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

MORENO VALLEY - A suspect in the July 2010 murder of 17-year-old Norma Lopez was behind bars today on a $1 million bail.


Jesse Perez Torres, 35, of Long Beach, was charged with murder,
kidnapping to commit rape and assault in the death of the Moreno Valley
teenager, who was snatched while walking to a friend's house after
school at Valley View High School, according to court papers.


Torres was jailed in Riverside after being arrested at his Long
Beach home about 10 a.m. Thursday. It was unclear how detectives linked
Torres to the killing.


"We are confident we have the (right) suspect in custody,"
Riverside County sheriff's Capt. John Anderson said at a news conference
Friday. "The community can breathe a sigh of relief."


Torres, his wife and two toddler children reportedly lived within a
block of Valley View High School at the time of Norma's death.


About five months before Norma was killed, Torres, who was
divorcing, allegedly assaulted his wife and threatened to kill her. The
case, however, was dismissed when prosecutors were unable to find the
victim in September 2010. According to the Los Angeles Times, Torres told investigators his wife was lying
about the assault to get custody of their children and enable her to get
a "green card."

It was unclear when Torres moved to Long Beach.


Norma's older sister, Elizabeth, announced the arrest on the Facebook page "Find Norma Lopez" late Thursday.


"I waited 1 yr and 3 months and my answer that I've been awaiting
for was finally answered. I promised this crime wasn't gunna go
unanswered and the FBI didn't fail us," she wrote. "He's been found and
he's in jail ...."


Norma's body was found July 15, 2010, in a field used as a shortcut
between her high school and Cottonwood Avenue. After finishing a summer
school class, she disappeared while headed to a friend's house in the
27300 block of Cottonwood Avenue.


Five days later, her body was found in a lot off Theodore Street, east Moreno Valley.


The case attracted national attention, inspiring local search
parties, then memorials and fundraisers for the family of the girl, who
would have graduated in June. She was awarded a diploma posthumously.

http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/59448/

DNA Linked Suspect to Norma Lopez Slaying
Neighbors describe suspect as "creepy."
VIDEO: Watch Elizabeth Espinosa's Report

KTLA News
4:17 p.m. PDT, October 27, 2011

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) -- A Long Beach man accused of kidnapping and murdering Moreno Valley teenager, Norma Lopez, made his first court appearance today.

Jesse Perez Torres is charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of kidnapping making him eligible for the death penalty.

Torres did not enter a plea Thursday, his next court appearance is set for Nov 16th.

Prosecutors say they got a DNA match in the case about three weeks ago that linked Torres to DNA found on Norma's body.

Dist. Atty.’s spokesman John Hall said the agency will not provide any more details about the DNA evidence, only that there was a “hit” directly linking Torres to one of the crime scenes.

Torres also owned an SUV that matched the description of a vehicle a witness saw at the site of the kidnapping, a vacant lot less than 200 yards from Torres' suburban home.

The witness told authorities the vehicle was a green SUV, which became a focal point in the initial investigation.

At the time of the crime, Torres lived in a home on a Moreno Valley street which Norma walked past.

Torres moved to Long Beach in August 2010.

Torres was was previously charged with felony spousal abuse and assault three months before Norma’s disappearance, but the charges were dropped.

Norma was abducted in the middle of the afternoon while walking home from a summer school biology class at Valley View High School on July 15, 2010.

Her body was found in a nearby field five days later.

Investigators said they found some of Norma's belongings, as well as signs of a struggle, in a vacant field along Cottonwood Avenue, a popular shortcut among students.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-norma-lopez-murder-arrest,0,6559867.story

Suspect in Norma Lopez Murder Pleads Not Guilty
Police say DNA evidence linked Jesse Perez Torres to the crime.
VIDEO: Watch Elizabeth Espinosa's Report

Officers lead murder suspect Jesse Torres to waiting car. (KTLA EXCLUSIVE)


KTLA News
10:36 a.m. PST, November 16, 2011

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) -- A Long Beach man accused of kidnapping and murdering Moreno Valley teenager, Norma Lopez, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

35-year-old Jesse Perez Torres is charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of kidnapping, which making him eligible for the death penalty.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 6.

Prosecutors say they got a DNA match in the case that linked Torres to DNA found on Norma's body.

Dist. Atty.’s spokesman John Hall said the agency will not provide any more details about the DNA evidence, only that there was a “hit” directly linking Torres to one of the crime scenes.

Torres also owned an SUV that matched the description of a vehicle a witness saw at the site of the kidnapping, a vacant lot less than 200 yards from Torres' suburban home.

The witness told authorities the vehicle was a green SUV, which became a focal point in the initial investigation.

Lopez was abducted in the middle of the afternoon while walking home from a summer school biology class at Valley View High School on July 15, 2010.

Her body was found in a nearby field five days later.

Investigators said they found some of Norma's belongings, as well as signs of a struggle, in a vacant field along Cottonwood Avenue, a popular shortcut among students.

At the time of the crime, Torres lived in a home on a Moreno Valley street that Lopez walked past.

Torres moved to Long Beach in August 2010.

He was was previously charged with felony spousal abuse and assault three months before Norma’s disappearance, but the charges were dropped.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-norma-lopez-murder-arrest,0,6559867.story

Preliminary Hearing Date Set for Suspect in Norma Lopez Murder
Police say DNA evidence linked Jesse Perez Torres to the crime.
VIDEO: Watch Elizabeth Espinosa's Report

KTLA News

3:08 p.m. PST, January 6, 2012
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) -- A Long Beach man accused of murdering 17-year old Norma Lopez is due back in court March 28 for a preliminary hearing

Jesse Perez Torres pleaded not guilty last November in the murder of the Moreno Valley teenager.

He is charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of kidnapping, which making him eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors say they got a DNA match in the case that linked Torres to DNA found on Norma's body.

Dist. Atty.'s spokesman John Hall said the agency will not provide any more details about the DNA evidence, only that there was a "hit" directly linking Torres to one of the crime scenes.

Torres also owned an SUV that matched the description of a vehicle a witness saw at the site of the kidnapping, a vacant lot less than 200 yards from Torres' suburban home.

The witness told authorities the vehicle was a green SUV, which became a focal point in the initial investigation.

Lopez was abducted in the middle of the afternoon while walking home from a summer school biology class at Valley View High School on July 15, 2010.

Her body was found in a nearby field five days later.

Investigators said they found some of Norma's belongings, as well as signs of a struggle, in a vacant field along Cottonwood Avenue, a popular shortcut among students.

At the time of the crime, Torres lived in a home on a Moreno Valley street that Lopez walked past.

Torres moved to Long Beach in August 2010.

He was previously charged with felony spousal abuse and assault three months before Norma’s disappearance, but the charges were dropped.


http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-norma-lopez-murder-arrest,0,6559867.story