During the brief announcement last week in the death of Norma Lopez, Moreno Valley Police Chief John Anderson spoke confidently about the person he labeled as the suspect in the July 2010 slaying.
On Thursday, Jesse Perez Torres, 35, of Long Beach, was arrested in connection with the death. A Monday deadline to file charges passed without the district attorney taking action, and Torres was briefly discharged from custody.
As a matter of procedure, Torres was processed out of jail, but arrested again. In California a suspect must be charged within 48 hours of an arrest.
The new arrest means the district attorney has until Wednesday afternoon to charge Torres with a crime related to the Lopez case. District Attorney spokesman John Hall said prosecutors needed more time to review the case.
On Thursday, the situation seemed clear.
"We have made an arrest in the Norma Lopez murder investigation," said Chief Anderson.
He also said that people in Moreno Valley could be at ease, but he would not answer questions about what led to the arrest.
Family members of Lopez had been informed of the arrest the night before the announcement. Elizabeth Lopez, Norma's sister, said it had been a difficult year of unanswered questions.
"Why her? Why did you have to kill her? Did she do anything to you for you to actually kill her?"
The answers to those questions, if known, remain a mystery.
Torres is being held in the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside.
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