The identity of the girl who was murdered and found with her body burned in Southern California has been revealed. The victim, fourteen-year-old Marcia Shirree Thomas, was reported missing from Reno, Nevada, by the Irvine Police Department.
Fifteen years after her murder, investigators were able to identify the victim via years of research and DNA testing. Zenaido and Gabino Valdivia-Guzman, two brothers in Santa Ana, tricked the young girl into getting into a van on September 4, 2009.
At the time, Zenaido was 23 years old, and Gabino, his older brother, was 30. Zenaido was hiding in the backseat of the vehicle while Gabino drove.
Zenaido was seated in the rear, and as Thomas got inside the vehicle, she started to freak out, according to the police. According to the authorities, Zenaido took the screaming girl into the back area where he started pounding her on the face and neck. The girl was being attacked by Zenaido as the older brother kept driving.
Zenaido finally killed her by strangulation when she was trying to flee, according to the authorities. The van was driven by Gabino to an Irvine business complex located on the 1800 block of Kettering Street.
Detectives claimed that’s where the brothers disposed of the girl’s body—dumping it in the parking lot, dousing her with gasoline, and lighting her on fire. After stealing the girl’s phone, the brothers left the area.
The workers who had come to the complex for work the following morning found the girl’s body. When the police and homicide investigators showed up, they started looking for leads on the suspects.
Due to a 2009 misdemeanor conviction for domestic abuse, Zenaido’s DNA was connected to the girl’s murder on November 5, 2010, more than a year after the incident.
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The following day, he was found and hauled into arrest at a Santa Ana retail complex. Gabino, his older brother, who was accompanying him at the time, was also taken into custody.
A jury found Zenaido guilty on November 15, 2022, of first-degree murder and the specific circumstance of murder committed during the kidnapping. Gabino, his brother, will face trial at a later time.
“The Irvine Police Department has been committed to this case since 2009,” Police Chief Michael Kent stated. “Marcia’s family remains in our thoughts during this difficult time. We appreciate the agencies that have assisted in providing crucial information to support the case and the family.”
