SANTA CLARA COUNTY (KRON) — The trial of the man accused of kidnapping and killing the Morgan Hill teen is now in the hands of the jury.

After days of closing arguments, the jury will begin to deliberate Thursday.

Antolin Garcia-Torres, 26, could face the death penalty if convicted by the jurors who have spent the last three months hearing extensive witness testimony on the five-year-old case.

On Wednesday, Garcia-Torres’ defense attorney gave his closing argument in the San Jose courtroom following a seven-hour argument from the prosecutor that began Tuesday morning.

Defense attorney Al Lopez accused prosecutors of distracting the jury with “shame evidence” and then presented his “top 10 reasons” for the lack of evidence that Sierra is dead, a key question in the no-body case.

A key part of the prosecution’s case is the DNA evidence linking Sierra to a pair of work gloves and a rope in the trunk of Garcia-Torres’ car.

Sierra’s clothes, including the jeans that were found to have Garcia-Torres’ DNA on them, were found in a field near her house shortly after her disappearance. Lopez questioned why, if Garcia-Torres was able to hide her body so well, he would not have done the same with her belongings.

Lopez pointed to the fact that Sierra’s body has not been found as the most significant reason his client should be found innocent.

KRON4’s Rob Fladeboe is at the courthouse to bring us the latest updates:

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