Man who raped, murdered Patricia Alatorre sentenced to life without possibility of parole

Nov. 1—Patricia Alatorre's heart of gold enchanted those in her orbit — happiness radiated from her core that shined just as brightly as her love of life, her family said.

Nicknamed "Slim," Alatorre never got to graduate from eighth grade after Armando Cruz, 26, raped and murdered her. Cruz, an Inglewood resident, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole by a Kern County Superior Court judge for first-degree murder, rape, sex acts with a child, aggravated sexual assault of a minor and contacting a minor to commit a sexual offense and possessing child pornography.

"This child murderer is a cruel and ugly, sick-minded person who should never see the light of day ever again," according to a letter from Alatorre's mother, Clara Alvarez, read to the courtroom by a victim advocate.

The Alatorre family's heartbreak sounded across a Kern County Superior courtroom prior to the reading of Cruz's sentence as three family members described how Cruz ruined their lives. Cruz looked down during most of the hearing and looked affected by the family's statements but didn't show much emotion.

Sister Vivianna Alatorre, who is one of eight siblings, said she thinks about her baby sister in everything she does. What would it be like if Patricia Alatorre was still here?, she asked in court Tuesday.

"Having a sibling that was murdered changed me deeply," Vivianna Alatorre said. "It changes your soul."

Cruz, who was arrested in July 2020, attended court hearings for two years before cutting a plea deal, pleading guilty to 11 charges. Deputy district attorneys Christine Antonios and Tyson McCoy offered a sentence of life without the possibility of parole in lieu of the death penalty if Cruz agreed to plead guilty to 11 charges.

"I believe this was the most horrific crime we've seen in a long time and absolutely merited (the death penalty)," Antonios said.

But the deputy district attorney said the deal was made after weighing factors such as reopening the family's wounds by sitting through a trial rife with explicit details. Antonios also noted Cruz didn't plead guilty to any lesser charges in the deal.

Chief Assistant Public Defender Tanya Richard and Deputy Public Defender Thomas Pope, who represented Cruz, said they had no comment at this time.

Public Defender Peter Kang wrote in an email that life without parole is just a slower version of the death penalty.

Prosecutors are not guaranteed the death penalty when leaving a case's outcome to jurors. A capital case has a higher chance of an appeal and "increased scrutiny," which means the case can go on without closure for decades, he added.

"(Life without parole) is finality," Kang wrote. "Healing is a process, not a moment, and it's going to take a lot of time for people to heal from this. (Life without parole) allows that process to begin sooner."

Patricia Alatorre's case started as a missing person's case on July 2, 2020, when Alvarez reported her as a runaway to the police.

Cruz, when arrested, first denied knowing Alatorre and provided "inconsistent statements," according to the BPD offense reports.

But he then admitted to exchanging sexually explicit pictures with Alatorre and meeting her for sex acts, the reports said. During a second encounter, Cruz said, Alatorre entered his truck and they began driving around. She didn't want to go with him, he said to police in the reports.

Cruz raped her in the back of his truck, despite her asking him to stop, he told police.

Alatorre physically fought back and struggled and screamed at him, police wrote in the offense reports.

To stop Alatorre from screaming, Cruz told police he strangled her until she stopped. He then wrapped duct tape around her hands, feet, mouth and nose, according to documents.

Cruz then threw Alatorre's cellphone into bushes at the intersection of Herring Road and Highway 99, according to his statements in the offense reports. Detectives later found the phone where Cruz said he threw it.

He then admitted to raping Alatorre, even though he knew she was dead, the offense reports said.

Afterward, he wrapped her body in a red sleeping bag, dropped it off in a parking lot and lit it on fire. The LA County Sheriff's Office responded to a fire in Inglewood and found an unidentified female wrapped in a red sleeping bag, the offense reports said.

A Kern County jury's indictment of Cruz stated he had more than 600 images of child pornography, including 10 or more images of a child under 12 years old.

Antonios said to reporters after Cruz's sentencing hearing the only victim named in this case was Alatorre.

McCoy declined to go into specific tactics used by Cruz to get Alatorre into his truck but did say he "groomed" Alatorre. These tactics are not uncommon online, he added.

"The reality is ... that the internet is a dangerous place," McCoy said.

As prosecutors spoke to reporters, several of Patricia Alatorre's family members stood outside the courthouse grieving. Alvarez sobbed uncontrollably and was hugged by family members and friends.

Family friend January Bottoms came to support the Alatorres and held up a sign denouncing pedophiles at the corner of Truxtun and Chester avenues. In a phone interview after the hearing, Bottoms said the justice system needs to be stronger and the death penalty should be brought back.

"We are failing (our children)," Bottoms added.

Gov. Gavin Newsom instituted a moratorium on the death penalty in California in 2019.

Bottoms, who was on her way to decorate Patricia Alatorre's grave for Día de los Muertos during a phone interview, added the family celebrates the 13-year-old's life in a variety of ways.

"She is gone but not forgotten," Bottoms said.

Alvarez said in a court impact statement she lives in pain every day after losing her child. She said she wonders what Patricia would look like today.

"He violently raped her and threw her body as if she was nothing," Alvarez wrote in the victim impact statement read aloud during the sentencing. "She was somebody. She was my baby, (a) sister, aunt and friend. She was a sweet child."

You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.