Man arrested in slaying of Moreno Valley girl

A man with an alleged history of domestic violence has been arrested in connection with the killing of Norma Lopez, a 17-year-old Moreno Valley girl who was abducted last year while walking home from school, authorities said Friday.

Former Moreno Valley resident Jesse Perez Torres, 35, was arrested Thursday in Long Beach, where he had recently been living, authorities said.

“We are confident we have the suspect in custody. He’s not out on the streets, and I think the community can breathe a sigh of relief,” Riverside County Sheriff’s Capt. John Anderson said at an afternoon news conference at Moreno Valley City Hall.

Anderson declined to provide any details of what led to Torres’ arrest, saying that the investigation was ongoing and that he did not want to jeopardize the district attorney’s case.

Lopez’s father, Martin, 45, and her sister Elizabeth, 19, attended the news conference and expressed their relief.

“One feels content, at the same time the pain comes again,” Martin Lopez said in Spanish. “It’s been more than a year.… But at last we had faith in God and he provided justice.”

Elizabeth, who wore a T-shirt with Norma’s picture on it, said police came to the family home on Thursday to tell them about Torres’ arrest.

“At least I know who did it; I just want to know why,” she said. “Why her? Why did you have to kill her…? She was young. She still had a long life ahead of her.”

If Torres is convicted, she said, she does not want him to face the death penalty.

“That’s the easy way out,” she said. “I want to make sure he spends the rest of his life in jail.”

Lopez was abducted in broad daylight on July 15, 2010, as she walked across a vacant lot after attending a summer school biology class at Valley View High School. Her body was found five days later in a wheat field.

Torres’ arrest was announced over loudspeakers Friday at a morning homecoming rally at the school. Lopez’s slaying struck fear in the community, and many students said their parents still picked them up after school as a precaution.

“My mom freaked out. I’m a lot more aware of my surroundings now, a lot more careful, a lot more cautious,” said Lerina Galba-Bright, 16, a senior. “I never walk anywhere alone. Never.”

At the time of the killing, Torres was living a block away from the high school, close enough to hear morning announcements over the outdoor speakers. The back of his former two-story, brown stucco home on Creekside Way is visible from the campus.

Five months before Lopez was killed, Torres allegedly assaulted his wife and threatened to kill her, court records show. The two were living in Moreno Valley at the time.

In a court declaration, a sheriff’s investigator stated that Torres’ wife, Veronica Torres, said the couple were in the process of getting divorced and that her husband, after having several drinks, choked and threatened her, saying, “I could kill you any time.”

She said her husband threatened to kill her family if she went to the police, according to court records. The two had been married for five years and were still living together as the divorce proceeded, she said.

She reported the threat to the Sheriff’s Department, and a deputy who investigated said he noticed redness around her neck and a 3-inch bruise on her right wrist, according to court documents. Jesse Torres denied doing anything wrong and told authorities that his wife was making up lies to get her green card and full custody of their children.

Torres was taken into custody and charged with battery and assault with a deadly weapon. But the case was dismissed in September 2010 when the district attorney was unable to locate the victim on the day the trial was to begin.

A former next-door neighbor in Moreno Valley described Jesse Torres as “creepy,” saying he would walk through the neighborhood and give people cold stares and ask strange questions. Once he asked her if she knew anything about domestic violence.

“We really didn’t know him that well.... He kept to himself a lot,” said Helen Silva, 26. “I never wanted to be around him.”

Lopez was reported missing by her older sister Sonja after she failed to show up at a friend’s home following her summer school class.

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. The Torres home is less than 200 yards away.

Detectives, joined by the FBI, focused on tracking down the green SUV that was seen speeding away from the area where Lopez was abducted. Police on Friday did not disclose if Torres owned or had access to such a vehicle.

phil.willon@latimes.com

Los Angeles Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.