SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A California court of appeal overturned the murder conviction of Antolin Garcia-Torres, the man who was previously found guilty of kidnapping and murdering 15-year-old Sierra LaMar in Morgan Hill in 2012. There is "insufficient evidence" against the 34-year-old prison inm ate to uphold his first-degree murder conviction, the Court of Appeal for the Sixth Appellate District ruled last week. The court said prosecutors can pursue a second trial, however, they cannot tell a new jury that the killing was "willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder." The appellate defense attorney who won the appeal, Danalynn Pritz, reviewed key pieces of evidence that were gathered for the 2012 murder investigation and later presented by prosecutors at trial in 2017. Pritz worked to find holes in the evidence. Prosecutors said Antolin Garcia-Torres, right, murdered Sierra LaMar, left, in Morgan Hill. LaMar vanished on March 16, 2012. That morning she got ready for school, left home, and never made it to her school bus. "No one saw her being abducted, and her body has never been found. (Garcia-Torres) was convicted of her murder ... on the basis of forensic evidence and primarily highly technical DNA evidence," Pritz wrote in court documents. LaMar's purse, cellphone, and clothing were found on the side of a road. One key piece reviewed for the appeal was Garcia-Torres' interview with two Santa Clara County Sheriff's sergeants on April 7, 2012, conducted weeks before his arrest. Sergeant Leon and Sergeant Quinonez peppered Garcia-Torres with questions and he gave answers voluntarily. At trial, audio recordings of the police interview were played in the courtroom by prosecutors. Sgt. Quinonez asked if Garcia-Torres had any hobbies. Garcia-Torres answered that he liked fishing and knew of the best places to fish in the area. He answered, "That one in San Martin. And up in Uvas (Reservoir). I don't actually try and catch fish. I actually go to just to be able to sit down relax." Sgt. Quinonez asked if Garcia-Torres knew anything about a missing girl named Sierra LaMar. He replied, "Just what I've seen on the news, that she just disappeared and, uh, that they found her phone. They found her purse." Sgt. Quinonez said, "We've been talking to a lot of people following up on a lot of leads. Tips are coming in from everywhere. Some of these tips lead us to talk to you. Is there any reason why someone would say that, 'Yeah, Antolin knew Sierra. Antolin was around Sierra?'" Garcia-Torres answered, "No," and told the sergeants that he had never seen or heard of LaMar until missing person fliers were posted around town and the story was reported in the news. The sergeant asked, "I need to know everything you did on Friday, March 16." Garcia-Torres answered, "I went fishing. I left my house, like uh, maybe 7:10, 7:20. And got up there around 8. Along the road at Uvas or Calero or Chesbro. After that, cashed my check (at a bank), went to the gas station ... then after that went home. I think it was like midday." Garcia-Torres said his girlfriend and their baby were home in his trailer when he left to go fishing between 7:10 a.m.-7:20 a.m. The sergeants told Garcia-Torres that they were analyzing evidence for DNA and fingerprints. Sgt. Leon asked, "After the crime lab, after the laboratory, all the scientists are done going through all the (DNA) evidence we have ... is there gonna be a reason why we would find your DNA or your fingerprints?" Garcia-Torres answered, "No. I'm pretty positive. I mean I don't go around leaving my DNA everywhere." LaMar's school bus stop was located on Palm Avenue. Sgt. Quinonez told Garcia-Torres that, on the day LaMar went missing from, Garcia-Torres left his house at 7:01 a.m. and his car turned onto Palm Avenue. The sergeant added, "That puts you right where everything happened at the right time. You understand that?" Garcia-Torres answered, "I understand. I'm starting to get more like, well, f**k." A family friend holds a photo of missing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar in front of the Santa Clara County Superior Court building in San Jose on May 24, 2012. (Photo By Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) A massive search effort for the missing high school student focused on the Morgan Hill neighborhood where she lived, as well as reservoirs that Garcia-Torres named as his favorite fishing spots. Sheriff's dive teams used high-tech sonar for the underwater searches. The sergeants' first interview with Garcia-Torres happened on April 4, 2012. He told detectives that he was angry because someone was following him, and he didn't know who it was. The sheriff's office was conducting around-the-clock surveillance on Garcia-Torres' whereabouts at the time, hoping he would unintentionally lead them to LaMar. Garcia-Torres asked, "Who the f**k is following me?" Sgt. Leon answered, "I don't know, but why do you say somebody's following you?" Garcia-Torres laughed and said, "I found a f**king GPS tracker on my car the other day. I was pretty pissed." Antolin Garcia-Torres breaks silence in rare prison letter For the appeal case, Garcia-Torres' attorneys also reviewed testimony from DNA experts, 911 calls reporting LaMar as missing, Verizon phone records showing locations of LaMar's cellphone, photographs of a white rope with strands of hair attached to it, and nearly 50,000 pages of courtroom transcripts. Pritz wrote in court documents, "The record in this case is voluminous. The total number of pages in the combined record is 49,512 pages." "This was an incredibly long trial, roughly 61 days from the prosecution's opening statement through the end of the guilt phase. There were a tremendous amount of evidence in the case, about 250 to 300 exhibits and numerous witnesses," Pritz wrote. The rope was "a very significant piece of evidence for the prosecution. Sierra LaMar's hairs were allegedly found on a white rope recovered from the trunk of (Garcia-Torres') car," Pritz wrote. Sierra LaMar is seen in a school photo. (Image via Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office) Sheriff’s Office stands by its investigation After Garcia-Torres won his appeal last week, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said it stands by its original murder investigation. The sheriff's office wrote, "Fourteen years ago, Sheriff’s Office detectives led an extensive investigation into the 15-year-old's disappearance. Investigators gathered critical evidence, followed all available leads, and worked closely with partner agencies to seek justice for Sierra and her family. Our detectives have continued to diligently pursue new information and remain unwavering in their commitment to this investigation. They will not rest until Sierra is found and closure can be brought to her family. While the Sheriff’s Office is disappointed in the court’s decision, we respect the judicial review process, and the role appellate courts play in ensuring fairness and due process. This ruling does not diminish the gravity of this case or the dedication that went into the original investigation. We have full confidence in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office as it evaluates next steps." The sheriff's statement continued, "Our thoughts remain with Sierra’s family, who have endured more than a decade of heartbreak and uncertainty." Antolin Garcia-Torres appears in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose on May 24, 2012. (Photo By Paul Chinn /The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) Sierra LaMar Case Timeline March 16, 2012: Fifteen-year-old Sierra LaMar vanished from her Morgan Hill neighborhood. That morning, she left her family's home on Paquita Espana Court, but never made it to her school bus. Her mother called 911 and told dispatchers, "My daughter's missing. She didn't show up at school. We're worried that she was abducted. She goes to Sobrato High School. I drove to the school and I talked to one of her girlfriends, and she said she wasn't at school all day today." The dispatcher asked, "Was she last seen at your house?" LaMar's mother answered, "Yes. I left, it was about 6 (a.m.) and she usually walks and takes the bus." The bus stop was on Palm Avenue. May 2012: Garcia-Torres was arrested at a Safeway grocery store where he worked. Feb. 11, 2014: The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office indicted Garcia-Torres on first-degree murder and kidnapping charges for the death of Sierra LaMar. He pleaded not guilty two days later. Aug. 25, 2016: A judge denied the defense's change of venue request, and the case remained in Santa Clara County. January 2017: A jury was selected and the murder trial began. May 9, 2017: Jurors found Garcia-Torres guilty of all charges. Dec. 12, 2017: A judge sentenced Garcia-Torres to serve life in prison without possibility of parole. District Attorney Jeff Rosen, left, talks with Marlene LaMar, right, after Antolin Garcia-Torres was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 in San Jose. (Photo by Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group via Getty Images) December 2020: From Corcoran State Prison, Garcia-Torres responded to a letter sent by a KRON4 reporter. He maintained his innocence and declined to answer questions about the case. "I hold fast to my innocence," the inmate wrote. 2018-2025: New attorneys representing Garcia-Torres filed an appeal and requested to review trial evidence, setting off a years-long legal process. February 27, 2026: The California Court of Appeal Sixth Appellate District overturned Garcia-Torres' first-degree murder conviction. "The judgment is reversed, and defendant may be retried. In any retrial of count 1, based on our finding of insufficient evidence of willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder or a specific intent to kill, the prosecution is barred from relying on those theories," the court ordered. March 2026: Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen's office is reviewing the appeal court's ruling before making a decision for a possible second trial. The DA's office told KRON4, "We will never stop seeking justice for Sierra." ...read more read less