SAN JOSE (KRON) — Sierra LaMar’s family and their supporters have waited five years for some sort of closure.

It has been a long slow search for justice. With no body ever found, investigators had to rely on forensic evidence to link the defendant to Sierra Lamar’s disappearance.MARCH 16, 2012: THE DISAPPEARANCE

Early morning on a lonely rural road in Morgan Hill, 15-year-old LaMar disappeared. She was headed for the school bus stop just a few minutes walk from her home.

That evening, her mother got an automated call from the school that her daughter was absent. Marlene LaMar insists her daughter is not a runaway.MARCH 17, 2012: CELL PHONE FOUND

The next day, sheriff’s deputies began searching nearby fields. They discovered Sierra’s cellphone in a field a couple of blocks away.MARCH 18, 2012: BAG FOUND

Sierra’s purse was found, a Juicy Couture bag containing pants, a T-shirt, and underclothes, all neatly folded.

FBI agents joined the investigation. Divers searched nearby reservoirs.

Missing kids advocate Marc Klaas mobilized hundreds of volunteers to comb through the surrounding farmland. No piece of information is too small

All of their efforts proved fruitless.

THE LATEST:Sierra LaMar murder trial

MARCH 28, 2012: ANTOLIN GARCIA-TORRES MONITERED

Away from the cameras, investigators already had a suspect. They began monitoring Antolin Garcia-Torres 12 days after Sierra’s disappearance.MAY 8, 2012: RED JETTA IMPOUNDED

Sheriff’s deputies reveal they impounded a red Volkswagen Jetta with a distinctive black hood owned by Garcia-Torres.MAY 21, 2012: GARCIA-TORRES ARRESTED

Police arrest Garcia-Torres after his DNA was allegedly detected on Sierra’s belongings.FEB. 13, 2014: GARCIA-TORRES PLEADS NOT GUILTY

For the two years, searchers combed the area for clues as court hearings were postponed time after time.

Finally in Feb. 2014, Garcia-Torres pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murder.OCT. 17 2016: JURY SELECTION BEGINS

Jury selection began in Oct. 2016. The prosecution asked for the death penalty. Sierra’s father just wants a conviction.JAN. 20, 2017: TRIAL BEGINS

After months of delays, the trial finally begins. MAY 2, 2017: CLOSING ARGUMENTS

The jury hears closing arguments on the case.Stay with KRON4 News for continuing coverage of the trial.

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