Brenda was killed in 2002, all along authorities knew it was somehow gang related. Earlier in the year Brenda's mother and brother had witnessed a gang murder and testified against local gang members in court. Investigators believe the gang wanted to retaliate against the family and send a message to the neighborhood to show them what happens when you cooperate with the authorities.
Brenda was 15 when two male gang members and a female gang member Rosemary Chavira also 15, abducted her from the intersection of Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue, taken to a "gang hangout" and repeatedly sexually assaulted.
When the rape and assault was through, they took her to an abandoned lot and bludgeoned her to death. Her dead body was then driven to the San Bernardino National Forest and dumped in an a area ironically known as the Valley of Enchantment where she was found the next day.
Rosemary Chavira, Cervantes and Barraza are all charged with murder, conspiracy to dissuade a witness and forcible rape, as well as with the special circumstance of murder during the commission of a kidnapping to benefit a street gang, according to court documents. Eddie Chavira faces charges of murder and conspiracy to intimidate a witness.
Because Rosemary Chavira was herself only 15 at the time of the murder, she faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged, not the death penalty, as prosecutors have said. Eddie Chavira faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Cervantes and Barraza’s crimes do make them eligible for the death penalty under California law, however authorities have not yet determined whether to seek capital punishment in the case.
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