This whole case can only be described as a horrific crime of opportunity. Andrew Vazquez was sitting in a car with her boyfriend, feeling safe and sound, when her car was ambushed. It was unplanned and acted out completely spontaneously by a 20 year old, with no prior criminal history, the son of a local Fireman. Beware this is just a parents absolute worst nightmare for their child and just a devastating case all around. Though I have to give my praise to the LA Police Department, who acted immediately and swiftly were able to arrest the suspect.
She was last seen shortly after midnight Sunday, Aug. 20, in the parking area of Penn Park, according to the Whittier Police Department. “An adult male witness reported that while at the park with an adult female companion, an armed suspect approached their vehicle and fired a weapon in their direction,” police said in a statement. That same witness told police he ran from the car, and when he came back he found blood, and Vazquez missing.
Ambushed at an LA park, kidnapped and her body dumped in a field: What happened to Andrea Vazquez?
Gabriel Sean Esparza has been arrested in connection with Andrea Vasquez’s disappearance. (Whittier PD)
Andrea Vazquez was with her boyfriend at a California park when a gunman ambushed them and kidnapped the teen. The desperate search to save her has ended in tragedy.
On a Sunday night and a young couple were sitting together in a car at a park near Los Angeles.
What happened next was something straight out of a horror movie – except this was real life.
In a statement following her kidnapping, police said that Vazquez was last seen wearing a black long-sleeve crop top, khaki pants, and black low-top Converse shoes. “She has a tattoo of ‘Edlyn’ on the back of the neck, Aries constellation on the top of her right hand and a belly button piercing,” the statement read.
Vasquez’s sister, Edlyn, with whom she lives in Los Angeles, put out a plea on Facebook for the public’s help in finding her.
“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.”
Another relative Emily Martinez told Fox News Digital that Vasquez’s phone last pinged in the Moreno Valley area.
“We’re scared for her, but I’m hopeful, very hopeful that we’ll find her,” she said. “We just want to know she’s OK.”
Tragic discovery
Following the horror kidnapping, a huge search was launched to try to find the missing 19-year-old.
That search ended in tragedy on Monday 21 August when, at around 11.50pm local time, authorities combing the area of Moreno Valley made a gruesome discovery.
Police said that the teen’s body had been found in a vegetation field off Alessandro Boulevard and Merwin Street in Moreno Valley.
It is currently unclear how she died or the nature of the scene where her body was found.
The investigation remains ongoing but police said that it appears that the attack on Vazquez and her boyfriend was “randomly targeted”.
After a day-long search, police said they found Vazquez’s body in a vegetation field off Alessandro Boulevard and Merwin Street in Moreno Valley. Earlier that day, Whittier Police said they arrested a suspect, 20-year-old Gabriel Esparza, of Whittier, at his job in Lakewood. Authorities do not believe the suspect had any connection to Vazquez or her family.
The ‘random’ suspect
On Tuesday 22 August, police announced an update on the case as a suspect was taken into custody.
Detectives from the Whittier Police Department and the LADA Community Violence Reduction Team arrested Gabriel Esparza, a 20-year-old man and Whittier resident, in connection with the kidnapping and shooting of Vazquez.
A gunman suddenly opened fire on the couple before pulling 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez from the car.
Vazquez’s boyfriend escaped the gunfire but returned to the vehicle to find she had been kidnapped.
After an intensive one-day search, the harrowing incident culminated in despair as Vazquez’s body was found in a field and a suspect – who has no known connection to the couple – was arrested for her murder.
Heartbroken relatives described Vazquez as a “beautiful person” as they have been left struggling to understand what happened and why.
Here’s everything we know so far about her abduction and death….
A chilling abduction
The horror unfolded just after midnight on Sunday 20 August when Vazquez and her boyfriend were sitting in a car at Penn Park in Whittier, police said.
Her boyfriend told police that an armed suspect then approached their vehicle and “fired a weapon in their direction,” police said.
Vazquez’s boyfriend fled the scene and when he returned he discovered blood near his car and his girlfriend missing.
Vazquez has been kidnapped from the scene.
Officers were alerted to a shooting and kidnapping incident located at the “parking stalls area” at 13950 Penn Street in Whittier.
WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) — Loved ones said their final farewell to 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez as she was laid to rest at Rose Hills Memorial in Whittier Tuesday.
Vazquez’s remains were found in a remote area of Moreno Valley after she was kidnapped from a park in Whittier on Aug. 20, police said.
Her parents are still shocked by the senseless murder.
“We’re looking forward to getting justice for my daughter, and we’re not going to stop until justice is done because no one deserved this,” said Eduardo Vazquez, the victim’s father.
Gabriel Esparza, 20, is accused of shooting Vazquez while she and her boyfriend were at Whittier’s Penn Park. Police say Esparza then kidnapped her.
Vazquez’s body was found a day later in a field in Moreno Valley.
Esparza has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts filed against him, including murder, kidnapping and attempted rape. He is being held without bail.
Mr Esparza was taken into custody at his workplace in the city of Lakewood and booked into the Whittier Police Department jail on charges of murder and kidnapping.
He is being held without bail.
During his arrest, officers recovered a weapon and Esparza’s White Toyota Tacoma truck – which are believed to have been used at the time of the shooting.
“This relentless investigation and yesterday’s arrest were made possible by the dedication and commitment of our investigations division, with the assistance of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Downey Police Department, La Habra Police Department and the LADA Investigations Bureau Community Violence Reduction Team,” police said in a statement.
The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office on Wednesday 23 August.
Suspect pleads not guilty in first court appearance
Gabriel Sean Esparza, the 20-year-old son of a Los Angeles County fire captain, has been charged with multiple felonies including murder, kidnapping and attempted rape of 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez.
Mr Esparza entered a not-guilty plea when he made his first court appearance for the brutal slaying on Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors have formally filed seven charges against the suspect, according to a criminal complaint submitted in Los Angeles Superior Court.
These also include attempted murder, kidnapping to commit another crime, assault with intent to commit a felony, and two counts of attempted forcible rape.
Tributes pour in
Vasquez attended Fullerton College and was a fashion design student as well as an employee at a shopping mall in Cerritos.
Ms Martinez told Fox News Digital before her body was found that the 19-year-old had also been working with her sister Edlyn, who is a lash artist.
She described Vazquez as the “funniest person ever” and a “beautiful person” who was liked by everyone who met her.
By FOX 11 Digital Team August 23, 2023
The man accused of kidnapping and murdering Andrea Vazquez from Whittier this week faced a judge for the first time Wednesday, pleading not guilty to the crimes related to the 19-year-old’s death.
Gabriel Sean Esparza pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday to seven counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, assault and attempted rape charges.
Vazquez’s family was in court Wednesday, saying they had one goal in mind.
“I want justice for my daughter,” said mother Anna Vazquez. “She was just starting her life.”
Vazquez was last seen shortly after midnight Sunday, Aug. 20, in the parking area of Penn Park, according to the Whittier Police Department. That’s when a witness told police a man came up to the car he and Vazquez were sitting in and started shooting. The witness ran, he told police, and when he came back there was blood and Vazquez was gone.
The boyfriend said he ran away during the shooting and when he returned, Vazquez was gone and there was blood near his car, police said.
The district attorney’s office said Esparza allegedly kidnapped Vasquez and put her in the bed of his pickup truck. “He drove her to a remote area of Moreno Valley in Riverside County where he attempted to rape her before dumping her body in a field,” the district attorney’s office said.
Police found Vazquez’s body late Monday in a vegetation field in Moreno Valley, about 50 miles from the park where the shooting happened.
Officer Tommy Mattsson, a Whittier police spokesman, declined to say what led police to Esparza or what connected him to the shooting, but told USA TODAY that “detectives pursued several leads during the course of the non-stop investigation, which ultimately led them to arrest the suspect and identify the area of Moreno valley where the body was left.”
Police said they they recovered the gun believed to have been used in the shooting in Esparza’s truck.
Vazquez’s body was found in Moreno Valley in Riverside County late Monday, after Esparza was arrested earlier in the day.
Attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez is representing Esparza in this case. He said is client is “scared,” and is “just beginning to understand what is going on,” adding that “Everyone in this case is in shock, and everyone who knows him can’t believe that he has been charged with this crime.”
Rodriguez called Esparza a good kid from a good family. Esparza’s father is a captain the Los Angeles County Fire Department
But sources confirmed to FOX 11 that Esparza’s arrest came after an extremely detailed confession, in which Esparza allegedly admitted he didn’t know Vazquez or the man she was in the car with when she was abducted, and allegedly attacked them at random.
The complaint alleged that Esparza assaulted Vazquez with the intent to commit rape, sodomy and oral copulation before getting rid of her body. Investigators also believe a rifle belonging to someone in Esparza’s home was used for the kidnapping and murder. That rifle was recovered after Esparza was arrested.
“I don’t think it’s fair that this happened and I don’t want this to happen to other girls,” Anna Vazquez said. “Please. I want justice.”
Esparza is being held without bail. His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 25.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today that Gabriel Sean Esparza has been charged in the kidnapping, attempted rape and murder of 19-year-old Andrea Vasquez, and the attempted murder of her boyfriend in Whittier.
“Our hearts ache for the devastating loss of a young life. The heinous nature of this crime, involving the murder, kidnapping and attempted rape of an innocent young woman, shocks our community to its core,” District Attorney Gascón said. “My office will work tirelessly to hold Gabriel Esparza accountable for his callous actions against Ms. Vasquez and her partner. In these moments of profound sorrow, I send my deepest condolences to Ms. Vasquez’s family as they cope with this painful tragedy.”
Gabriel Sean Esparza (03/18/03), of Whittier, is charged in case BA517367 with one count of murder, one count of willful, deliberate and premeditated, attempted murder; one count of kidnapping to commit rape; one count of kidnapping; one count of assault with intent to commit rape; and two counts of attempted forcible rape. Additionally, special circumstances of murder during the course of a kidnapping and murder during the course of an attempted rape are alleged.
It is further alleged as to all seven counts that in the commission and attempted commission of the offenses, Esparza personally used a rifle.
Esparza pleaded not guilty today at an arraignment. His preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for October 25 in Dept. 50 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. He is being held on no bail. If convicted of the charges and allegations Esparza faces a maximum penalty of life without the possibility of parole.
On August 20, Esparza allegedly approached Vasquez and the other victim shortly after midnight at the parking stalls area of Penn Park in Whittier where he proceeded to allegedly shoot at the victims.
Esparza allegedly kidnapped Vasquez from the scene and drove off with her in the bed of his pickup truck. He drove her to a remote area of Moreno Valley in Riverside County where he attempted to rape her before dumping her body in a field.
On August 21, Esparza was arrested by Whittier police detectives and LADA’s Bureau of Investigation (BOI) Community Violence Reduction Team at his workplace in Lakewood. Later that day, Vasquez’s body was found in Moreno Valley.
The case was investigated by the Whittier Police Department with the assistance of LADA’s BOI Community Violence Reduction Team, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and the Downey and La Habra police departments.
He was charged with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and two counts of forcible rape among other charges, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Wednesday.
“The heinous nature of this crime, involving the murder, kidnapping and attempted rape of an innocent young woman, shocks our community to its core,” Gascón said. “In these moments of profound sorrow, I send my deepest condolences to Ms. Vasquez’s family as they cope with this painful tragedy.”
https://abc7.com/whittier-kidnapping-andrea-vazquez-murder-gabriel-esparza/13746006
https://www.the-sun.com/news/8898977/andrea-vazquez-missing-family-breaks-silence
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