Page 17 - Torrez Case News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

No sign of a sexual assault. and one more thing also seemed clear. >> most likely the attack started in the car. there were pieces of the gearshift that were broken, pieces of the center console that were broken, as if a struggle had occurred. and then there was blood within the interior of the car. >> reporter: orange county prosecutor matt murphy later reviewed the case. he noted blood on everything the killer must have touched -- the steering wheel, above the glove compartment, the driver's side armrest and, of course, the trunk release. but one noteworthy place where there was no blood? th...

>> daron wyatt was not going to quit until i filed this case or i died. or he died, i guess. daron was absolutely dedicated to this. >> reporter: the truth was, if murphy declined the case a third time, the cathy torrez file would almost certainly go from cold to dead. what would he decide? no one understood the stakes better than cathy's mom. >> daron had told me that we were going to meet with the d.a. my interpretation of it was that he was going to tell me that there was nothing they could do. >> reporter: a key piece of evidence arrives, better late than never. how long had they known tha...

This time though, something different happened. a prosecutor unfamiliar with the case agreed to take a fresh look. his name is matt murphy, and he noticed one thing right away. >> the first thing you see when you look at the file is a big rejection from really good lawyers who reviewed it individually and as a group. >> reporter: which means they tried very hard to make a case and they couldn't do it? >> they tried very hard. that's right. and they figured, based on their review, that they couldn't do it. >> reporter: and some of the reasons were apparent from the get-go -- >> when you look at...

Question. and when he finally did -- >> so did you -- do you guys know how she was killed? >> uh, yeah, we do. >> reporter: larry noticed a telling statement. >> thought you were never going to ask. >> well, i didn't want --'cause i don't want memories to come back, you know? >> well, that's an interesting statement, "i don't want memories to come back." what memories does he have that he doesn't want to remember? if he's innocent, he has memories of cathy, good times, what they did. >> reporter: people would want those memories to come back. >> yeah. if he had a memory that he killed her, tha...

>> reporter: to daron wyatt, it felt more like fate. and just months later, in january 1997, his lieutenant suggested daron apply to the homicide unit. >> so i ended up putting in for that job and being selected. >> reporter: it wasn't long before he cracked open the doors that housed the homicide files. >> and i open the cabinet and i see the torrez case. and i remembered the incident with debbie from about a year earlier. so i pulled it out and i started reading just on free time, just reading it a little bit. >> reporter: by then, the cathy torrez case had been cold for a good three years. ...