Friend of California teen slain 12 years ago charged with her murder

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The onetime friend of a 15-year-old Los Angeles girl who was abducted, raped and beaten to death has been charged with her murder more than 12 years later in a case authorities describe as a gang-related retaliation killing. Rosemary Chavira, 27, was arrested on Friday near her home in Lancaster, north of Los Angeles, and has been held without bail since then in connection with the 2002 slaying of Brenda Sierra. Chavira pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a single count of murder with special-circumstance allegations that it was perpetrated in conjunction with a kidnapping, rape and gang activity. Since she was just 15 years old at the time herself, she faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted, prosecutors said. "She actually was a friend of Brenda at the time, and coordinated the kidnap itself, and evidence indicates to us that she was present during the rapes and during the murder," Lieutenant Dave Coleman, a homicide detective for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, told reporters. Investigators said they expected similar charges being brought against three more suspects within the next 30 days. Two of those men are already in custody, authorities said. A third was believed to be in Mexico, according to Coleman. The teenage victim was abducted on her way to high school in East Los Angeles on Oct. 18, 2002, and her body was found the next day. Homicide detectives said she was sexually assaulted by her kidnappers, then bludgeoned to death, in separate locations, before her body was disposed of 70 miles east of the murder scene in the San Bernardino Mountains. Coleman said Sierra was believed to be a victim of gang retribution. "Her brother had testified in a drive-by shooting approximately 10 days before her kidnapping," he said. Sheriff's officials did not disclose what led to the recent break in the case, although they said previously that witnesses had come forward to provide key information. (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Cooney)