By City News Service

Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of the abduction- murder of Norma Lopez, a Moreno Valley high school student whose disappearance devastated a community and whose case went cold for more than a year before her alleged killer was identified and arrested. "It's one of the most emotional cases I've handled," former Supervising Deputy District Attorney Mike Soccio told City News Service. "This is a young lady who one minute was walking home from school, and a minute later, it was all over. There was such a mystery as to who did it and why."

Soccio, who was assigned to the case until his retirement from the Riverside County District Attorney's Office in January, said he's continuing to lend a hand with trial preparation -- from a distance -- and will remain involved until the matter is resolved. "It's past time for a jury to hear this," the veteran prosecutor said.

READ MORE: L.B. Man Arrested on Suspicion of Killing Norma Lopez, 17

Prosecutors Filing Charges Against L.B. Man in MoVal Murder of Norma Lopez

Man Accused of Murdering Moreno Valley Teen Norma Lopez to Stand Trial Norma was taken on the morning of July 15, 2010. The 17-year-old had attended a summer class at Valley View High School and was walking to a house in the 27300 block of Cottonwood Avenue to meet her younger sister and friends but never made it. When she failed to arrive by noon, her sister, boyfriend and others went to search for her along a footpath she and other students used to cut across a field near Quail Creek Drive.

One of the teenager's earrings, her purse and a folder were found in the field. Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene and initiated a search, first going to places familiar to the teen, including her family home, the school and nearby retail outlets, eventually expanding the search to areas throughout the city and beyond.

When no clues regarding Norma's whereabouts turned up after two days, and the weekend began, members of the community and Norma's schoolmates formed their own search parties, distributing fliers bearing her picture and description.

Authorities also focused on what was described as a green SUV seen speeding away from the area about the same time Norma disappeared, asking anyone with information about the vehicle to come forward. Five days later, only hours after the Moreno Valley City Council announced a $35,000 reward for information leading to her safe return, Norma's remains were discovered under brush at the edge of a property on sparsely populated Theodore Street in east Moreno Valley, roughly 2 1/2 miles from where she was snatched. Though there was no evidence of a sexual assault, Norma's shirt and bra were missing.