Andrea Vazquez – latest: Murder suspect Gabriel Esparza’s attorney says he’s scared as DA vows to seek justice

On Tuesday evening, members of the community held a candlelight vigil for 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez who was kidnapped and killed on 20 August.

Friends, family and associates of Vazquez gathered in Penn Park, where she was last seen.

Officials say that her body was found late on Monday night and that the victim’s family were informed on Tuesday morning.

“This is not the outcome they wanted, but they do realize Whittier Police worked around the clock,” said Moses Castillo, a former LAPD detective and advocate for the family. “Their pain and grief is beyond description.”

The victim was shot and kidnapped from Penn Park in Whittier after she had been sitting in a parked car with her boyfriend.

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 now ended in tragedy.

Gabriel Sean Esparza, 20, has been charged with multiple felonies including murder, kidnapping and attempted rape.

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.

Faiza Saqib reports:

Andrea Vazquez’s family members have opened up about her loss, just days after the teen was kidnapped and shot while on a date with her boyfriend at Penn Park in the city of Whittier.

Vazquez’s body was later found in Moreno Valley.

“It’s a terrible day for me today,” Vazquez’s mother Ana told CBS News. “I had a lot of hope to find her alive, hoping that God gave me the miracle and nothing happened.”

A GoFundMe for the family of Andrea Vazquez has raised over $20,000 in memory of the 19-year-old who was the victim of a random violent act.

“I am asking all our friends and family to help my family with the tragic loss of our beautiful Andrea,” the GoFundMe creator, Diana Ortiz, wrote in the description.

As of Wednesday morning, the fundraiser had raised $34,258.

“We appreciate all the love, prayer, and support during this time. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!”

“We’ve been here praying with my aunt and my uncle,” a cousin of Vazquez told FOX11 on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, we were notified of Andrea being found. We are devastated. My uncle and my aunt are heartbroken. We have good strong family support so we are just here trying to process this, it’s hard. She was our baby cousin, just 19 years old. Such a senseless act, it shouldn’t have happened”

Gabriel Sean Esparza, 20, 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.

Prosecutors have formally filed seven charges against the suspect, according to a criminal complaint submitted in Los Angeles Superior Court.