Did Gabriel Esparza plead guilty to Andrea Vazquez's murder? LA County fire captain's son abducted California woman at gunpoint
WHITTIER, CALIFORNIA: The son of a Los Angeles County Fire captain who is accused of abducting and fatally shooting a California woman, has pleaded not guilty to the crimes. 20-year-old Gabriel Sean Esparza has been slapped with multiple felony charges which include murder, kidnapping, and attempted rape of Andrea Veasquez, 19.
Esparaza entered a not-guilty plea following his first court appearance for the brutal murder on Wednesday, August 23. As per a criminal complaint submitted in Los Angeles Superior Court, seven charges have been filed against the criminal by the prosecutors. These also include attempted murder, kidnapping to commit another crime, assault with intent to commit a felony, and two counts of attempted forcible rape.
When was Vasquez kidnapped?
According to Independent.co.uk, Vasquez was with her boyfriend in a vehicle on Sunday when she was randomly kidnapped. While the victim and her partner were sitting in the parked car at Penn Park, an armed man came towards them and began shooting. Vazquez’s boyfriend initially escaped from the scene but when he returned he “discovered blood” near it and Vazquez was nowhere to be found.
Her lifeless body was discovered the following day in an open field in Monero Valley, close to where her family say her phone last pinged and they found traces of blood.
The killer had no motive for the murder
Gabriel Esparza was arrested by the authorities in connection with Andrea Vazquez’s death. “This was a completely random act of violence, there is nothing to suggest that there was any kind of affiliation.” Whittier Police Department public information officer Thomas Mattson told Fox 11. “The suspect just randomly picked someone who was hanging out at the park and committed this heinous act.”
When did the incident happen?
The tragedy took place just after midnight on Sunday, August 20, when Vazquez and her boyfriend were sitting in a car, police said. Officers were informed about the shooting and kidnapping incident located at the “parking stalls area” at 13950 Penn Street in Whittier.
Vasquez’s sister, Edlyn, with whom she lived in Los Angeles, shared a post on Facebook for the public’s help in finding her at that time. “My sister was shot and kidnapped at Penn Park,” she wrote. “Her last location shows Moreno Valley. We don’t know her condition. Please I am begging, if anyone has information, or the heart to share this, please please contact me and repost.”
Victim's family is left devastated after the murder
Edlyn posted a tribute for the slain teen on Thursday. “My sweet angel ... I’m completely destroyed. Words cannot describe this pain,” Ms Vaquez wrote on Facebook. “I love you with all my heart and my soul ... Until we meet again beautiful baby.”