The Murder of Karen Garcia
For this case, I watched an episode of In Pursuit with John Walsh. It’s season 1 episode 4, titled ‘Crocodile Tears.’ Karen’s case is featured during the first half of the episode.
A young mother goes missing after meeting with her ex-boyfriend.
Background
At the time of her disappearance, Karen Garcia was only 21-years-old. She was living in Williams, California with her mom, Gloria, sister, Ana, and her daughter. She worked at a local restaurant called Granzella’s.
She had recently broken up with her boyfriend and the father of her daughter, Salvador Vaca Garcia. The two had met in high school, worked at Granzella’s, and had lived together for awhile in Colusa, about 10 miles from Williams.
Karen was described as popular and social, while Salvador was quiet and jealous. Karen finally had enough one night in December 2017 and ended their relationship for good.
Karen Garcia
Karen with Salvador Vaca Garcia, at the time of her pregnancy
The Break Up
In December 2017, Granzella’s hosted its annual employee Christmas party. Karen was a social butterfly, while Salvador sat and drank by himself.
When they got home, Salvador confronted Karen and yelled at her in Spanish. He also slapped her with an open fist, which was witnessed by their friends who lived in the same apartment complex.
Karen ended the relationship. Salvador reacted by throwing a water bottle and hitting Karen in the eye. Her friends took her to her mom’s home and she permanently moved back in with her daughter.
Karen broke down and explained to her mom that Salvador hit her. Gloria told Karen to report it to the police or she would.
Salvador was charged with a domestic violence misdemeanor.
A Family Tragedy
On January 6, 2018, Salvador broke into Gloria’s home while Karen’s sister, Ana was at home alone. Luckily, he didn’t harm her and ended up casually walking out of the house.
The next day, January 7, Karen’s sister, Jessica was killed in a head-on collision crash. She was only 19-years-old.
Karen left the house that night and drove to her friend, Linda’s apartment. The same friend that lived in the same complex as Salvador.
Salvador was at home that night with their daughter. He asked Linda where Karen was as he had seen her car at the complex. Linda didn’t want to get involved. Salvador told Linda to tell Karen that she needed to pick up their daughter the next morning.
The Disappearance
On January 8, Karen arrived to pick up their daughter. Linda asked Karen if she’d be okay alone with Salvador, and Karen said yes.
An hour later, Linda noticed that Karen’s car was still in the parking lot. She texted Karen asking if she was okay. Karen responded with a thumbs up and asked if she worked that day. Linda was surprised as Karen usually knew her work schedule.
That night, a vigil was held for Jessica, but Karen didn’t show up. She also didn’t show up for work the next day. Her car was no longer in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
Karen’s sister, Ana reported Karen missing and filed a missing persons report with the Williams Police Department.
The Boyfriend
On January 10, Salvador appeared on the local news in a teary interview. He spoke about Karen being an amazing mother. However, many noticed that he spoke about her in the past tense.
A clip of Salvador speaking to the media- Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I28SgGBhUA
The police learned about the domestic battery misdemeanor when they looked into Salvador’s background. On January 12, Salvador was brought to the police station for questioning. He ended the interview after just a few minutes.
While Salvador was being questioned, other officers had obtained a search warrant for the apartment Karen once lived in with him. The police found a significant amount of blood in one of the bedrooms. There were also signs that someone had been drug out of the apartment.
The police believed that Karen was the victim of a homicide, but they didn’t have any concrete evidence against Salvador.
The Manhunt
On January 13, Salvador organized a car tagging event to search for Karen. Salvador left the event and told his former friends that he needed to speak to a lawyer. He ended up fleeing the area.
On January 14, Karen’s friend, Angela was at a mall in Woodland, California, about 40 miles from Williams. Angela saw a car that looked similar to Karen’s. She had been there to hand out flyers and had a picture of Karen’s license plate on the flyer. It was Karen’s car.
Karen’s body was found inside the car in the passenger seat. Angela also saw that Karen’s phone was next to her and had a bloody fingerprint on it.
Karen’s cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries to the head.
An alert was issued for Salvador’s arrest.
Salvador’s Wanted poster
The Arrest and Conviction
In August 2019, Salvador Vaca Garcia was arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico, and extradited to California.
In a plea deal, he pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter, use of a firearm, kidnapping, and robbery. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He also pled guilty to the domestic violence charge that he had been arrested for in December 2017.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I cannot even imagine what this family had gone through. They lost 2 family members in the span of just a few days in such horrific ways. My heart goes out to them. I’m so happy that Salvador was captured and that Karen’s family can have closure. I hope Salvador rots in prison forever.
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I28SgGBhUA
https://lakeconews.com/news/62183-colusa-county-murder-suspect-arrested-in-mexico
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/05/suspected-killer-of-karen-garcia-captured-by-u-s-marshals/
