Sarah Beth Gonzales, a 13-year-old girl, was reported missing on December 16, 1994, along with her 12-year-old cousin, Priscilla Almares. The next day, their bodies were discovered at Rodriguez Park. An autopsy confirmed that both girls had been sexually assaulted before being killed.
The investigation into their deaths initially struggled to identify a suspect. However, years later, authorities linked Ramon Torres Hernandez to the crime through DNA evidence.
Hernandez, a convicted serial rapist and murderer, had previously been sentenced to death for another crime—the abduction, rape, and murder of Rosa Maria Rosado in 2001. While Hernandez was never formally charged with the murders of Gonzales and Almares, investigators announced that the case was solved based on his confession and DNA evidence.
Hernandez was arrested on April 4, 2001, for Rosado’s murder, and his accomplice, Santos Minjares, was arrested the following day. During the investigation, detectives obtained a sample of Hernandez’s DNA, which matched biological evidence collected at the scene of Gonzales and Almares’ killings. Despite this, Hernandez was only convicted for Rosado’s murder. He was sentenced to death on October 21, 2002, and was executed by lethal injection on November 14, 2012.
Minjares, who was also found guilty, received the death penalty but died of natural causes in January 2012 before his execution date could be set. Hernandez’s girlfriend, Asel Abdygapparova, was sentenced to life imprisonment for her role in Rosado’s murder.
The tragic deaths of Sarah Beth Gonzales and Priscilla Almares remained unsolved for years, leaving their families searching for answers. While Hernandez was never officially charged with their murders, authorities considered the case closed based on the evidence linking him to the crime.
