Woman's family says justice is in sight after Torrance man pleads no contest to 2011 rape, murder
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- More than 10 years after a teenager and a young woman were raped, murdered and dumped by Southern California freeways, the family of the one of the victims finally feels like they have some justice.
On Monday, Geovanni Borjas, 38, of Torrance, suddenly pleaded no contest during his trial for their deaths.
Borjas was charged in May 2017 with the Dec. 26, 2011, slaying of Bree'Anna Guzman, 22, and the April 24, 2011, killing of 17-year-old Michelle Lozano. Then-Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said both victims were sexually assaulted.
Lozano's body was found about 11:40 p.m. April 25, 2011, alongside the Golden State (5) Freeway near State Street in Boyle Heights. Police said the body had been wrapped in plastic bags, put in a plastic container and dumped over a masonry barrier along the freeway, and that the container broke open when it hit the ground.
Guzman's partially clothed body was discovered on Jan. 26, 2012, near the Riverside Drive on-ramp to the southbound Glendale (2) Freeway in the Silver Lake area. The body was apparently dumped at the location, police said.
Guzman had been reported missing a month earlier. She left her home in Lincoln Heights the day after Christmas to go to a store but never returned.
"I am very ecstatic, I'm happy because this is the one of the missions that I have been fighting for all these years, from the moment that she walked out the door and didn't come back," said Guzman's mother, Darlene Duran. "I wanted to know where (she went), who hurt her, what happened and I'm getting a lot of those answers."
For Duran, the growing sense of closure finally came more than a decade after her daughter was murdered.
"There will never ever be a punishment that's going to fit the crime that was committed against Bree'Anna and Michelle," she said. "However, I know he will never hurt another person (while being) behind bars, and he's going to be just where he needs to be."
After years of searching for Guzman's and Lozano's killer, DNA tied Borjas to the heinous crimes.
"I wish the death penalty was still on, but if he can be in there for life, that's all I am OK with because no one else needs to go through what we went through," said Guzman's sister, Rachel Duran. "It's horrible."
Guzman's family said the ordeal has been a nightmare and now, the justice they have been seeking is finally in sight.
"That's all we ever wanted, was for justice to take place. He's been arrested, he will never hurt another person and justice is on its way," Darlene said.
Borjas faces a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12.
Prosecutors were originally seeking the death penalty in the case, but that punishment was taken off the table following the election of District Attorney George Gascón, who opposes capital punishment.
City News Service contributed to this report.
