UCI Spotlight - Emily Garcia
They are called predators because, like their animal
counterparts, they prey on the young, the weak and the wounded. That is why their crimes are the most disturbing. That is
why society must unite to fight against them.
On February 25, 1993 a Texas road crew is working off Highway 46 in Canyon
Lake, Texas and discover the nude body of a young female. The body had evidently been there eight to ten hours before it was
found. For a year the victim is a "Jane Doe" until law enforcement matches her fingerprints.
She is Emily Jeanette Garcia who had disappeared
from San Antonio on February 12, 1993.Emily was a slight, very pretty hispanic teenager, only 15
years old.
On a memorial web site, Emily's family describes
her:"Emily was a clown. She was very sociable, artistic, creative, and tempermental. She liked
music, dancing, and art. She liked the color red. Her favorite meal was lamb stew, though she was very fond of cooking and
loved to eat. She was always smiling and didn't know a stranger. She loved spending time at her grandparents home in Missouri,
because she loved nature. She was very plain spoken and was quick to tell you just what she thought.
" She also, like
many young girls, had her share of problems. The family says that while she loved people, she could be moody. She also got
into trouble with the law, spent time in Juvenile Detention in San Antonio and was on probation from there before her disappearance.
The autopsy revealed she was three months pregnant.
Young, weak and with personal problems; Emily
somehow became a predator's target.When last seen the girl said she was going to get a pregnancy
test so that she could sign up
for medicaid. She
did not return home that night.
The coroner's report details her ugly and
painful death. Emily had been raped, the cause of death was ligature strangulation. The report notes the abrasions to her
skin, vagina and rectum.It has been 12 years since Emily was murdered, but the case is still
active. Police have DNA that can be matched to a suspect. The family believes that someone, somewhere has seen something,
heard something that can break this case. The family desperately wants to see justice done, but more importantly want this
man stopped. There are other young, defenseless girls that could easily present themselves to him as targets.If you have any information about this case, please contact:
Det. Ward at the Comal County Sheriff's office. 830-620-3400
The e-mail address is: soatgw@co.comal.tx.us
or
While the hunt continues, it is our belief that Emily must not
and will not be forgotten. |