even this verdict was just -- it will not take away the pain and suffering that we continue to experience every day for the rest of our lives. something like that doesn't go away. >> wearing a bracelet that says sierra. her mother emotional after the guilty verdict against torres, the man now convicted of murdering her teenage daughter. >> thank you for joining us. the stunning case impacting the bay area. a 15-year-old girl vanishes on the way to school, the body never found. we have team coverage of the verdict. matt keller is live at the hall of justice in san jose.

max has more on the verdict. max? >> reporter: very emotional here at the santa clara courthouse. gasps heard as the verdict was read from the clerk inside that courtroom. then in the overflow courtroom, there were loud applause and cheers from the people who were watching that closed circuit video of the proceedings. now -- [ inaudible ] murder of sierra lamar, found guilty of three counts of attempted kidnapping of three women in a safeway store where he used to work. they talked to us outside the courthouse. >> nothing will take away the pain and sorrows we experience every day, and we will continue to experience for the rest of our lives. truly, we've been praying for the chapter to have this ending,

justice. >> we'll obviously never get sierra back, so it's not closure, but it is a good first step, and the jury did the right thing. >> reporter: the search for sierra continues. the prosecution convinced the jury of the guilt without a body, murder weapon, or crime scene. they had dna evidence. defense did not talk to the media. they have the penalty phase to prepare for. matt keller, abc 7 news. >> matt, thank you. today's verdict is a big victory for the santa clara county district attorney's office. >> taking a risk on a case with limited evidence and went forward with the most serious charges available. abc 7 news reporter was inside the courtroom as the verdict was read, david? >> reporter: this conviction of anthony garcia torres reflects well on the work of the district attorney's office and the santa clara sheriff's office.

their investigation and dna evidence that was the tipping point in the trial. district attorney did leave the prosecution team out of the courthouse shortly after the verdict was read in court. prosecutor david had a difficult case to convince the jury that torres was guilty of kidnap and murder when there was no crime scene. the penalty phase of the case is still ahead. >> we now move immediately to the next phase, the penalty stage where the jury decides whether the defendant gets the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole. not speculating what the jury will do. it is their decision and a significant one to be made. >> reporter: emotional for volunteers who searched for s irgs erra and sat through many days of the trial to show support to the lamar family. one of them, douglas, has a special place in his heart for sierra. >> sierra is everybody's daughter.

she's become our daughter. she's made a big impact on all of us. she's brought us together. >> reporter: he says the search is not over, and he's hoping that torres in the penalty phase will reveal where the body is. now, the punishment phase is not going to be a quick process. both the defense and prosecution pwill be given opportunities to tell the jury why they believe that garcia torres should or should not be given life in prison without the possibility of parole or death sentence. the process could take a month. live at the hall of justice, david louie, abc 7 news. justice is something the community waited for ag nonizingly for years. we were live over the hall of justice where a crowd gathered including many volunteers which searched for sierra. >> we continue our team coverage. you interacted with the lamar family and garcia-torres family?

>> reporter: kristin, this is the news the family was waiting to hear. sierra's father has been inside that courtroom every day of the trial. he came outside the courtroom after the verdict was read with tears in his eyes. here's what he had to say. >> satisfaction, relief, all those emotions, and then the sad emotions are there too. i mean, like a whirlwind of emotions. sad, thinking of sierra. and then, yeah, the results here today. >> reporter: steve lamar said if the daughter is watching down on all this, she'd say, hang in there dad. although he was found guilty, the pain that the family is has is still there, felt every day. the family of torres was also in the courtroom.

>> can you tell us what your reaction is? do you think he'll tell them where the body is now? do you have anything to say? anything to say? any words for sierra lamar's family? anybody? as you saw, his mother walked out with the relatives, had a she was escorted by sheriff deputies because the media was surrounding her, and she left without saying a thing inside a car, so a very emotional day on both sides because garcia torres' fate is sealed, and now his mother has lost a son. also, for sierra's family, this is not over for them. they are hoping that garcia torres reveals where sierra's body is, but it's unknown if that will ever happen. live from san jose, abc 7

>> thank you. you saw a shirt that said "everyone's daughter" on it, proof this case deeply impacted the morgan hill community beyond the affected families. >> let's go to jessica castro from abc 7 mornings. we see lines of people waiting, wanting to be in the courthouse. >> absolutely. inside the courtroom today were folks who have been searching tirelessly for five years and folks touched by the case. >> a combination of thrill and relief. >> feel relieved, yeah. awesome, yeah. >> was justice served? >> i think it was. >> being a dad, having a daughter, all of those emotions come out in you, and you just hope the jury comes to the right conclusion, which i believe they did. >> we were holding hands inside there, god answered questions and answered wishes and prayers,

and i'm -- wow. just glad that, like i said, justice has been served. >> and i should note volunteers saying they are going to be searching for s irher body tomo. the searchers in this case have not lost hope of finding her body. you can follow our reporters, connect with them, they've been covering the verdict out there, so you can connect through social media on twitter as well as facebook and follow at abc7news bay area. back to you. >> all right, good for the volunteers to never give up on her. from the disappearance to today's verdict, it's been a long five-year road. >> let's give you a timeline of the case. march 16th, 2012, sierra disappears on the way to a morgan hill bus stop. march 17th, a a day later, the phone is found blocks away. march 18th, the bag found down the road from the cell phone, and may 21st, they arrest

torres. fast forward to 2014, he plead not guilty to murdering sierra. >> january 30th of this year, the trial got underway, three months, the jury deliberated on thursday, taking three days, and today, the verdict handed down. how unusual is it for guilty verdict with no crime scene, no weapon, and no body? next, our legal analyst weighs in along with the next big decisions facing the jury. and weather-wise, it's hazy day out there once again. not a spare the air day, but particular matter is high as well as pollen. i want to focus in on from mount tam is the one-day engagement of above average temperatures. this time tomorrow, 10-20 degrees cooler. mother's day f

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we're still going, and we feel better! >> back to breaking news, guilty verdict returned this morning in the sierra lamar murder >> our criminal law professor analyst is here, and thank you for being here. biggest question. going into this, the prosecution really took a risk. they had dna evidence, and that's basically it. no body. no murder weapon. no story to present to the jury. how surprised were you they came back with guilty? >> well, tis has happened before, although it's not

unheard of, but it is pretty rare because some people really before they convict, want to know what happened, and i think the jury walk away from the situation basically, you know, really, as you said, with the dna evidence, but without a narrative of what happened, how the crime was committed, and all that is missing. that is the risk. it is a big risk, and it's in risk in both directions, right? on the one hand, the jury could doubt the defendant's guilt. there was issues with the dna as well. on the other hand, the jury might, this is what the prosecutor was counting on, be concerned about the prospect of releasing a violent person out on the streets to violate more women. it's a difficult decision for a jury in a case like this. >> now that we have the verdict, sentencing is next. what are the options jurors look at, and, also, what will weigh into their decision? >> so, the conviction is the first degree murder, a capital crime in california, and the jury has to decide between the death penalty and life without

parole. sentencing phase we're hearing evidence, and the evidence covers -- more extensive than evidence in the guilt phase. guilt phase focuses only on the question did the person commit the crime. we're looking at the circumstances of the crime of which, again, we don't know a lot, but we're also looking at the person, their environment, background, family, and all of these things are going to come to bear at the sentencing phase. >> of course, the victim's family. >> of course, the victim's family and defendant's family as well. >> if you were a betting woman, what do you think? >> i'm not a betting woman. >> smart woman. >> especially after this morning. it was a close call, i think. >> all right. close call, but oh, so quick in reaching the decision. >> yes. i assume dna evidence has hugely convincing power. although forensic evidence is only as strong as the explanation behind it, i assume what happened is the jury did

not buy the innocence explanations why the defendant's dna was where it was and why the victim's dna was where it was and that was enough to convince them. >> thank you so much for the advice and answers that are very valuable. appreciate it. >> thanks for coming in this morning. of course, the moment the verdict was handed down, we alerted you on our news app. >> our coverage, of course, continues this now, download the app for free, enable push alerts to get news updates as they happen. still to come, more changes at the airport. new details on a proposal to expand a laptop ban on flights. what it means for your next trip. >> live right now, it is sunny and clear today. meteorologist mike

new details on a electronics ban that could affect ewe next time you fly. the white house is expected to sign off this week on a ban anything larger than your smart phone for flights to and from europe. abc 7 news reporter hoamy hol hollyfield is getting reactions. >> reporter: travelers had to think long and hard about getting on a plane without a laptop. it's the business traveler who seems to be the most upset aboua surrendering a laptop before boarding. >> it's a problem. i travel all the time. i need a laptop on the plane. i do work on the plane. sitting on a plane for five hours, perfect place to work, so there's got to be a way to figure out how to not have that happen. >> reporter: there is speculation that u.s. officials

are close to banning all electronics larger than a smart phone on all european flights. that means laptops and tablets, which really help fill time on a flight. >> gives people something to do as they flight, a long flight sometimes, so it does keep you busy, so i think -- i don't think it's a good idea to ban it. >> reporter: the move would be in the name of safety. electronics are already ban from flights out of several airports in the middle east. >> safety first. for me. i would be okay with it. you know, we could always do the old-fashioned thing like read a book. >> reporter: those are not ready to go that far back in time -- >> you still have your phone, planes have wifi now, so i think people would be fine, just fine. >> reporter: i checked in with a source at the federal government, he says nothing's decided yet, but it's been talk about for about six weeks. if there is going to be an

announcement on this, they are hearing it could be by the enof this month, so might be a good time to think about a book it take with you if you are going to europe this summer. live at sfo, amy hollyfield. >> new details on a power outage in damville we tracked all morning. this is new video of a tree down on verde mesa 3,000 people were without power. they are working to get it back on, but it could be until 2:00 this afternoon. now your accuweather forecast with mike nicco. >> good thing it's not too hot today, 87 degrees for you. all right, see the haze out there, high pressure sinking there, calming influence, hazy, and warmest day this week, and snny. we spring back to cool highs tomorrow, mother's day weekend is breezy and cooler. here, now, 55 at the coast, 60s in the mixture and 70s.

this afternoon? 80-82 in the south bay, san jose at 82. 73-80 in the peninsula. low 60s on the peninsula coast. 70 downtown san francisco. the north bay, 57, sonoma that's a 30 degree spread. oakland 75. union city 78. inlands, 88, warm spot. livermore, 85, a cool spot. here's a lack at 17 in san jose. warmer than yesterday other than the coast. you can see above average temperatures, away from the coast, 6:00, hazy sun, 62-69 for the rest -- last evening where you may not need a jacket. okay, what more could the a's do? walkoff saturday, a walkoff home run sunday, and a walkoff home run in overtime. extra innings if you will. yesterday, what's going to happen at the coliseum tonight? get there at 7:05, first pitch 66, dropping down to 59 to find

out. fortys at the coast, low to mid 50s for the rest of us. area of low pressure, this is bringing cooler weather tomorrow and drizzle thursday. thursday, 4:00 in the morning, best chance of rain, lake counties, drizzle along the coast and east bay hills. throughout the morning, best chance of anything is steady up again, a few showers dip down around noon, and kind of hang out through 2:00, and fade away. now, around san francisco, oakland, up into the north bay, possibility of a couple hundredths inches of drizzle. could be a wet commute. we'll be here to get you through it. big change tomorrow, wind from the ocean, 50-70s and mainly 50s and 60s this weekend. fastest winds friday, saturday, and more mother's day, sunday. get her a hat with a spring on it to tie it, i don't know. >> brunch, massage, flowers,

indoors. >> that's the key. >> i see how you added the massage in there. >> right? >> windy conditions did it. it's inside. >> oh. all right. he caught me. >> you know what? i know since you sang with dolly parton, wanting to sing again. >> "american idol" is coming back, and this time right here at abc 7.

he's a nascar champion who's she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily,

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okay, maybe you have dreams of becoming an american ie dome. the dream no longer dead. >> yeah. i know you're dreaming it, that's right. the pop culture is coming back, "american idol" returns to tv, here on abc. revealed oven good morning america this morning. >> launches careers, including, of course, kelly clarkson, the original american idol, carrie underwood and jennifer hudson.

who is hosting? >> i went into seclusion, are you going to host it? >> no. >> please, tell me, yes. >> whatever you want. >> yes, okay. >> your my work wife. i say yes and bow to you. >> uh-huh. >> huh. >> definitely not a no. >> it's not a no. we don't really know at this point. we actually don't know when idol will be on the air again. abc 7 it will announce the host and judges as they say in tv lands soon. >> right. >> because it's coming to host with kelly, and then we got american idol coming back. i don't know. >> yeah. >> i read the fine print. >> sorry, reggie. >> from us here, thank you for joining us. have a good day.

>> it's a simple game, really. i set 'em up, they knock 'em down. and they walk away with a very big check. let's get this party started. it's time to play "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] ♪ everybody, welcome to the show! you guys ready to play "millionaire" today? [audience cheering] with a million dollars, today's returning contestant wants to open a very special and interesting cafe. from las vegas, nevada, please welcome back cj hill! [cheers and applause] ♪ cj, how you doing? >> thanks for having me back. >> pleasure. ♪ it's good to have you back. >> thanks for having me. >> we'll get into your game in just a little bit... >> sure. >> but, uh, with this million dollars, you--you have an idea. what is this idea? >> i do. i have a passion for cats. call me a crazy cat lady if you will