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

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

A California woman who was reportedly shot and abducted from her boyfriend’s car in a park near Los Angeles has been found dead, police have confirmed.

The body of Andrea Vazquez, 19, was discovered in an open field in Moreno Valley, not far from where her family say her phone last pinged and they found traces of blood.

The Independent’s Graeme Massie reports:

Police arrested Gabriel Esparza in connection with Andrea Vazquez’s death.

“This was a completely random act of violence, there is nothing to suggest that there was any kind of affiliation.” Whittier Police Department public information officer Thomas Mattson told Fox 11.

“The suspect just randomly picked someone who was hanging out at the park and committed this heinous act.”

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.

The Independent’s Faiza Saqib reports:

Following Andrea Vazquez’s 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.

The investigation remains ongoing but police said that it appears that the attack on Vazquez and her boyfriend was “randomly targeted”.

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.

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.”

Vazquez’s body was found by police on Monday night. Her family was informed the following day.

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.

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: