The man who killed a Chula Vista homeowner in an attempted home invasion 14 years ago was sentenced Wednesday thanks in part to a hat left at the crime scene.
Sergio Morales, 54, was beaten and shot several times on Nov. 28, 1999.
A woman knocked on the door of the Morales home on Paseo Burga. When a man tried to force himself inside the home, Morales fought back and was left fatally injured on the front porch.
Ten years later, Joe Mora of Lancaster was convicted for the killing after his DNA was found on a knit cap left at the scene.
Mora's ex-girlfriend told investigators Mora once asked her about DNA evidence while the couple watched a television show on forensic evidence.
When the woman asked Mora if he’d ever killed anyone, she said that he "became very irate, choked her."
On Wednesday, Mora listened as his victim’s widow and daughters described how their family changed forever on that day in 1999.
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Cecilia Camarena said she dreamed for years of the moment when she could face her father’s killer.
“As a Christian we have to forgive and if I don’t forgive, I’m not free,” she said. “I won’t let that tie me down. He’s not going to control my life anymore.”
The family's faith in God has sustained them, according to Camarena's sister, Alma Perez. She said it gives them peace that they will see her father again.
They would also like the woman who was with Mora that night to come forward.
“You’ll be set free too,” Camarena said referring to the burden of guilt the woman must be carrying after so many years.
Anyone with information regarding this case can contact investigators at (619) 585-5670.
Mora will spend his life in prison without a chance for parole with an additional 25 years for using a gun during that murder.
