Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - How did the police solve the Cathy Torrez murder after more than 10 years?

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered chronicles the decades-old stabbing death of 20-year-old California State Fullerton University student Cathy Torrez, whose body was found in the trunk of her car a week after she went missing in February 1994.

The upcoming episode, titled The Promise, is scheduled to re-air on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, at 7 pm ET on Oxygen. The synopsis of the episode reads:

"When Cathy Torrez never comes home after work, her family fears the worst; an intensive search ends after her car is found, with her body in the trunk; it take years to get to the truth."

It took detectives over two decades to bring the killer, an on-and-off boyfriend named Sam Lopez, to justice along with his cousin Xavier Lopez who helped him dispose of Cathy's body and conceal the murder. Detectives used DNA on the victim's clothes to connect the two individuals to the murder, given that they were each other's alibis.

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Placentia resident Cathy Torrez's murder case was solved after two decades using DNA advancements

On February 12, 1994, Cathy Torrez, who worked at a local drug store in Placentia, California, failed to return home after her shift. Days later, the 20-year-old's dead body was found in the trunk of her car. An autopsy revealed that Cathy was stabbed at least 74 times on her head, face, and upper torso and sustained fatal cuts to her neck and wrists.

Regardless of initial suspicions about her then-boyfriend, Sam Lopez, who seemingly had a strong alibi and claimed that he was with his cousin Xavier Lopez on the night of the murder, many of the victim's co-workers told authorities that she had plans to meet him that night after the shift. Cops suspected that he was perhaps lying about his whereabouts but had no evidence to prove the same.

According to reports, the forensics team found fingerprints upon examining the victim's car. Although there were no matches at the time, by 1997, authorities were able to charge Xavier Lopez, Sam's cousin, with murder. The charges were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence, and the case went cold for years. However, detectives kept track of Sam and Xavier after that.

A couple of years later, detectives re-opened Cathy Torrez's unsolved case. In 2007, using advanced DNA technology, it was confirmed that Xavier Lopez's DNA was found on the victim's clothes. Both Sam and his cousin Xavier were arrested and charged with murder, with the former moving to trial. It was alleged that he stabbed Cathy 74 times and then, using his cousin's help, disposed of the body.

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Cathy Torrez's boyfriend, Sam Lopez, stabbed her repeatedly before disposing of the body with his cousin's help

It was alleged that Sam Lopez and Xavier met Torrez in the parking lot of a Baskin Robbins, from where the three drove to a different place. At one point, Sam and Cathy got into an argument when the former attacked the latter, stabbing her repeatedly in the head, face, and torso. He then, with the help of his cousin, put her in the car trunk while she was still alive and slit her throat and wrists.

In 2015, Sam Lopez, 43, was found guilty of one felony count of murder and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison, while Xavier Lopez pleaded guilty and was given a four-year and eight-month prison sentence. Sam's older brother Armando was also charged in the Cathy Torrez murder case.

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Tune in to Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on Tuesday at 7 pm ET to learn more about the case.