Police: Norma Lopez Murder Case Still Active

Riverside - Nearly six months later, there are still no arrests in the abduction-murder of 17-year-old Norma Angelica Lopez, whose case mobilized a community and now "eats" at the investigators working to solve it.

Jan. 15 will mark the six-month anniversary of Norma's disappearance and death.

Since that time, 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 the Moreno Valley Police Department -- 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 Califoia 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 leaed 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 oveight.

Norma was headed to a friend's house in the 27300 block of Cottonwood Avenue when she disappeared. She had attended summer classes that moing 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 conceed residents organized a search, and a reward was offered for her safe retu. On the afteoon 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 tued 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 information about the case was encouraged to contact sheriff's Investigator James Merrill at the Moreno Valley Police Department, (951) 486-6700.