Kidnapped 19-Year-Old Woman Found Dead in Moreno Valley, Suspect Arrested

Gabriel Esparza, left, has been arrested as a suspect in the killing of 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez, right, after she was kidnapped from a Whittier park and then found dead in Moreno Valley, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2023.

WHITTIER, Calif.—Authorities have arrested a man in the kidnapping and fatal shooting of a young woman at Penn Park in Whittier over the weekend, police announced on Aug. 22.

Gabriel Esparza, 20, of Whittier was arrested on Aug. 21 afternoon at his workplace in Lakewood, the Whittier Police Department reported.