Dateline: The Promise - A complete timeline of the Cathy Torrez murder case, revisited 

The Promise episode of Dateline is a reminiscence of the lengthy struggle regarding the murder of Cathy Torrez. The episode premiered on May 3, 2014. In 1994, Cathy was a 20-year-old honors student at California State University, Fullerton. She worked at a Sav On store in Placentia before disappearing.

In this episode, viewers saw her body was locked in the trunk of her car, which was also discovered a week later in the Placentia Linda Hospital. She had over seventy stab wounds on her. Law enforcers quickly targeted her part-time boyfriend, Sam Lopez.

However, the lawsuit went on for years without success. Dateline: The Promise follows the family's commitment not to give up, and a cold case investigation that helped reveal the truth.

Read more about Cathy Torez's murder case.

How did Cathy disappear?

Cathy actually worked in her shift at the Sav On Store at Placentia on February 12, 1994. Her coworkers stated she had a late-day meeting with her ex-boyfriend, Sam Lopez. She sent a text to her mother telling her she was on her way home, though she never arrived. This Dateline episode highlighted that her family did not fail to realize that something was amiss.

Neighbors and friends also came out to search for those who were patrolling the streets with her burgundy Toyota Corolla. The car was discovered in Placentia Linda Hospital a week later. This was not a spontaneous act of murder, as the police found out that Cathy was stabbed seventy times, and this was in a locked trunk. It is this dreadful week of terror and hope that Dateline bases its timeline on.

Who planned the attack?

Dateline showed that Sam Lopez had been dating Cathy here and there since high school and had just proposed to get married, but she was not willing. The prosecutors allege that a premeditated assault on her vehicle was initiated due to jealousy and anger during the night. Cathy was stabbed in the face, neck, chest, back, and limbs numerous times.

At a later time, a forensic expert claimed that she was alive when forced into the trunk. Homan suspected Sam immediately, and he and his cousin Xavier Lopez provided alibis for each other. At first, the physical evidence was weak. The episode reveals the stallings of the case and the division of neighbors and families by rumors as relatives of Cathy continued to demand answers.

How was justice won?

Many years later, DNA tests linked evidence found in Cathy's automobile to Sam and his cousin, Xavier Lopez. Both cousins were arrested, and his brother, Armando, and Sam were all alleged accessories in July of 2007. The Promise follows the primary detective, Daron Wyatt, and the family as they observe the case evolve.

In 2015, Sam Lopez was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to serve twenty-six years of life imprisonment. Xavier was later charged with involuntary manslaughter, which was to be served. In 2017, Armando Lopez accepted a guilty plea to trying to sway a witness and was given informal probation as the sisters of Cathy testified in court.

Dateline: The Promise finishes by showing how the family is sharing the memory of Cathy through the Cathy Torrez Learning Center.

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