True Crime with Kimbyr - Part 2: Her Head Found Wrapped in Duct Tape - Mom of 2 Murdered In Her Home! Norma Rodriguez

Episode Date: November 30, 2025

In Part 2 of this gripping case on True Crime with Kimbyrleigha, the investigation into Norma Rodriguez’s brutal murder takes an even darker turn. New evidence reveals unsettling behavior, shifting alibis, and hidden tensions that point to someone closer than anyone imagined. Kimbyrleigha breaks down the shocking contradictions, the emotional unravelling of key figures, and the crucial forensic details that begin to expose the truth behind Norma’s final moments. As the pieces fall into place, one question grows louder than ever: Was the killer hiding in plain sight all along? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Norma's friends and family said she worked with a Warren and a Corey, and that she'd been getting kind of close to Warren recently, that they were good friends, and Warren was actually a former co-worker of hers. His full name is Warren Mackey. He'd also just been at that Memorial Day barbecue at Norma's, and he didn't live too far away from her house either. It was about a 20-minute walk. They spent a lot of time hanging out, and Norma enjoyed their friendship.

And from all accounts, Warren had developed a little crush on Norma. asked her out multiple times. Norma told her sister Frances that Warren became quite pushy and started dropping by without actually being invited over. But Norma did not have any romantic feelings for Warren, but she didn't want to turn him down and hurt his feelings. Norma felt bad for him because he also seemed to be struggling socially and he was a bit of a loner. So she didn't want to cut things off completely because she wanted to be kind. So she did her best to just be pleasant, and not encourage any affection. However, she also wanted to include him in the group,

so he didn't feel rejected altogether. Now, some co-workers said that he was really nice, but others described him as a little odd. Now, when detectives spoke with Warren, he told them pretty much what Norma's family had said. He confirmed being present at the barbecue, and as everyone was gradually going home, it eventually was just Warren and Norma

hanging out what they usually did. According to Warren, they just chilled, they watched TV before he went home. leaving Norma on the couch in her living room around 10.30 p.m. that night. Then he said, the following evening, May 30th, he, his roommate and his roommate's girlfriend, drove to Santa Barbara around 10.30 p.m. to go to a nightclub. When the club closed, the group left and they made their way back to their place in Oxnard, leaving around 1.30 or 2 a.m. Warren admitted he was pretty drunk by that stage of the night, and he just passed out. In terms of Warren's relationship with Norma,

He told detectives that the two were close friends. They socialized a lot, but that was it. He did say as a single mom, she would ask him to do odd jobs around the house and he would do that for her. But he denied wanting anything more out of their friendship. But we kind of know that's not really the whole truth. However, when it came to his alibi, Warren's roommate and his girlfriend corroborated the account of them driving to the nightclub and Santa Barbara on the night of May 30th before coming back and staying in Oxnard. Meanwhile, the investigators get a hold of the other person that Austin mentioned, Corey Davis. Now, he currently worked with Norma at Kmart.

He also came in for an interview. Investigators Darren Schindler and Detective Estrella spoke to him to see what he could tell them not just about the night of the murderer, but his relationship with Norma. Corey explained he and Norma work together, but beyond that, just interacting at work, he and Norma did not really socialize together

in the same friend group. He also denied being a Norma's house, the house and night of the slaying, saying he was at home with his mom and dad. Now, he couldn't offer much more than that, but Detective Estrella thought that Corey seemed on edge during the interview. I mean, wouldn't most of us be on edge if we were being considered a suspect in a murder case? But it just seemed like Corey was a bit more detached than let's say Warren was. And again, he didn't know Norma as well as Warren, so maybe he was just detached from the news of his coworker being found dead, because he was just,

because he didn't know her as well. The thing was he appeared to be kind of mad that he was even brought in for questioning, and he was having difficulty maintaining eye contact with the investigators. However, they were kind of at a dead end. Nothing stood out in either one of these interviews with Warren or Corey.

So they decided to speak to everyone that had worked with Norma, either currently or previously. Another one of her friends and coworkers, Beatrice, who attended the barbecue, told detectives that nothing seemed out of the ordinary on that afternoon. But she did remember that at one point, Norma realized that her keys were missing.

Now, that's interesting because recall, those keys were found near her body. Well, Beatrice said the guests at the barbecue were helping Norma turn the house upside down looking for her keys, but they seemed to have vanished. Now, by this time, police had Norma's keys. But if they went missing during the barbecue, had someone there stolen them?

and then possibly return them later that night after letting themselves in and murdering Norma? Wow. This seems like a really big lead. It's the only one that they had. Well, investigators needed to look into every employee. Well, as the information from everyone enormous coworkers is being gradually cross-checked,

detectives came back to Corey because the address that he provided was actually different from his address where he lived. Now, it was only a small detail, but they figured if he was willing to be untruthful about something so small, could he possibly have lied?

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Or was it just an honest mistake? Maybe he was just nervous being at the police station. But they had to circle back. And this time, when detectives spoke to Coria again, he was just as unhelpful and evasive as the first time. He once again denied knowing anything about what happened to Norma. He even told investigators that he did not want to be involved in this. And they understood that, but it was their job.

And unfortunately, for him, he was involved to the point of being someone that worked with this woman, and also that her child, who may have been the only witness, said was at the house. Corey was even more upset when investigators shared brutal details of Norma's murder with him. They wanted to gauge his reaction I mean, that would be pretty disturbing. So investigators decided to have both Warren and Corey take a polygraph. Interestingly, both men passed. Are you surprised?

Seems like just another dead end, because as quickly as someone was being identified as a person of interest in this case, it seemed like one by one, they were turning out to be nothing, that nothing was tying them to the crime scene. But detectives hadn't finished making their work. through the long list of people in Norma's life that they wanted to speak with. And one of those people was Norma's ex-boyfriend, Daniel Garcia.

Remember him? The one that had just broken things off with Norma? Someone who wanted to rekindle things with a former flame didn't sound like they were the kind of person intent on harming Norma. But detective soon learned that she and Daniel argued to the point where things escalated. Almost 12 months earlier, Daniel actually went into Kmart

when Norma was working. and he instigated the heated confrontation in front of everyone. Now, that's a red flag. So they brought him in for questioning. Daniel told law enforcement that there were never any problems between him and Norma. Even though he'd ended the romantic relationship, they were friends, he claimed.

And that he occasionally even went over there to visit her. He admitted to going into Norma's work one time, but he denied getting into an argument. And when it came to Daniel's movements on the night of May 31st, He claimed he was at home with his family watching TV before going to bed. Like the other alibis in this case, Daniel's relatives corroborated his account, but we know that this is not that reliable.

So, you probably know what's coming next. Daniel sat for a polygraph. What do you think the results were? He passed, just like all the other men. It really seemed to detectives that they could not catch a break. Anytime a new potential suspect was identified, they were eliminated just as a few other men. eliminated just as quickly. The fact that everyone the investigators spoke with was

cooperative was encouraging but on the other hand it didn't leave them with any solid suspects to pursue based on any post-offence behavior. Everyone came up clean. This of course is the daily grind of police work but the lack of meaningful leads was frustrating and the people suffering the most in all this was Norma's grieving family. They just wanted answers and despite the methodical and the thorough work of the investigators The lack of a breakthrough was demoralizing. The thought that a woman could be attacked in her own home,

with her young child just feet away, terrified them beyond measure. While Norma's killer was walking the streets, her family would not feel safe, with her sister Janie telling the LA Times, quote, I don't want this to happen to anyone else, not to another mother, sister, or daughter, end quote. Norma's sisters were in the process of coming together

and printing flyers to plaster them everywhere throughout the city and beyond. They wanted them to say, Do you know who murdered my sister, Norma? And by now, Norma's shattered family and large circle of close friends had also said their farewells at her funeral. She was laid to rest in Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard. A month had now passed since Norma's murder.

Despite the polygraph results, police had a very short list of five potential suspects that they were keeping to themselves. And in the first week of the investigation alone, they collectively clocked over 100 hours, hours of overtime, but the community was just getting a very real sense that perhaps this case was going to go cold and remain unsolved. But then, just as the detectives felt like they were really hitting a wall, they received

new and surprising information about someone they had already spoken with. Norma's coworker and good friend Beatrice, yep. Remember these two women were close, very close, so close that apparently, according to people that knew them, Beatrice had confided in Norma that she had confided in Norma that she had she was having an affair sneaking behind her husband's back with another man. And Norma agreed not only to keep her secret, but to actually allow Beatrice to use her home to meet up with this new man she was cheating with. She even gave Beatrice a key to her house.

Well, that's interesting, isn't it? Investigators wanted to know why she hadn't let them know this, and I think we can guess why. Why she wasn't exactly forthcoming with this information. Obviously, she didn't want anyone to find out about her, sex capades, least of all her husband, and he also knew Norma. So deciding to do the right thing, she came clean to the investigators. Beatrice told them everything about the man she was involved with. This included details of when and how many times she went over to Norma's for their dates.

But another possibility came to mind for detectives. What if Beatrice's husband knew his wife was being unfaithful and he wanted to punish Norma for her role and facilitate this deception. I mean, that could be a motive. But when they brought him in, it was shocking to him. He had no idea his wife was sneaking around behind his back. He was absolutely heartbroken, especially to find out this way. But he had an alibi for the night of the murder too. He was at work, and detectives were able to follow up on this and confirm the validity of his alibi, which removed him from their list of suspects. Another person questioned during the investigation was the man, the Patriots was having an affair with.

Detectives looked into his whereabouts on the night of the murder and found out that he, too, had a solid alibi. And as a result, he was also cleared of suspicion in the murder. Another dead end. Norma's murder seemed to set off a horrifying chain of events in Port Winemi during the summer of 1993. The community was stunned by the brutal killing of Norma,

and it seemed like everyone was already on edge. People were locking their doors in their windows at night and avoiding going out alone. But then, just 26 days after Norma was killed, yet another woman turned up dead. This time, it was an 87-year-old woman named Beatrice Velas. Now, this is a different Beatrice, not Norma's close friend. The victim was deaf and mute, and she used a walker for mobility. She was frail, incredibly vulnerable, and she didn't stand a chance against her killer.

Not being able to even call out for help, she was viciously attacked. She was stabbed in her bed in her third floor apartment in a senior's living facility just blocks away from Norma's house. Detectives were still trying to wrap their minds around Norma's murder when Beatrice's gruesome murder occurred. And before they could solve either one of these cases, tragedy struck again. Another woman brutally killed just five and a half weeks later,

and the community was sent into panic mode once again. It was in the early morning hours of August 5th, 44-year-old customer relations manager, Cynthia Berger, and a resident of Port Wynamee, was found face down and deceased in her bathtub by firefighters. She had been sexually violated and strangled, and the cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation after a fire was set to apparently cover up this crime.

As news of these heinous crimes spread, the residents of this community were left reeling and struggling to come to terms of what happened. These senseless, violent acts, one after the other, nobody seemed safe anymore. Everyone felt like there was a serial, serial killer on the loose. And these additional cases increased the pressure on police. They had a relatively small police department of only 20 officers, the smallest in the county.

And the police chief, John Hopkins, was actually doubling as the department's crime scene investigator. So it was no surprise that the morale in the police department took a real hit, especially the longer that these cases remain unsolved. It was putting a strain on the department financially and administratively. So to do their best to help, Norma's family literally took to the streets in their campaign to find her killer. Or maybe it would lead to who killed these other two women. Fifteen of Norma's relatives conducted door knocks throughout Port Winemey and Oxnard. They were accompanied by Andrew and Austin, and they distributed 900 flyers bearing the words, someone murdered my mommy. Please help us. Wow. That would definitely get someone's attention. And Norma's sister

Frances told the LA Times, she didn't want this case to be swept under the rug. She wanted the public to know that normal was loved and that they were going to miss her so much and they were going to try as hard as they could to catch her killer. She said that you never know what could turn up. Maybe somebody heard something. She didn't want another family to go through what they were going through. And while it's true that some police departments may see this as a norman family kind of like encroaching upon their investigation, they didn't see it that way. Lead detective Fernando Estrella welcomed these door knocks. He knew very well that something that people felt really uncomfortable talking to police, they would much rather be open to a victim's

family, especially when it came to giving them information that could unlock the key to find the killer. On the evening of July 31st, Norma's sisters held a candlelight walk in her honor. They started at the parking lot of Norma's former workplace, the Oxnard Kmart. The group that gathered to remember the slain woman walked the streets, finishing up at the home where Norma started her new life. the one where her life also came to a premature and brutal end. At this time, Andrew and Austin were being taken care of by their father Anthony and their mother's family, including their grandparents, Tomas and Gloria, and their aunt, Aphelia. It actually broke her heart to hear her nephews call her mommy.

She actually had to remind them that while she of course loved them with all of her heart and soul, and she would never abandon them, she was their aunt and that their mommy was in heaven, and that just pulls in my heartstrings. As the weeks turned into months, the police were still no closer to finding Norma's killer, despite having interviewed over 50 people at this point. And they feared that this case was going to come to a halt. In an effort to help local law enforcement solve the three homicide cases, including Norma's, an FBI behavioral analyst, came from Quantico, and in early September, they joined the Ventura County DA's office. Now these detectives were working seven days a week,

so they were grateful for the additional support. After receiving the reports, examining the crime scene photos, the profile of the man that the FBI analyst believed had killed Norma was very much along the lines of what the suspicions were of the detectives from the beginning. They believed Norma's killer not only knew her, but knew her very well.

Rapping that tape around her head was an act of depersonalization. so that Norma wouldn't be able to look at her killer. Now, while all this was going on, Norma's family was intent on regularly making contact with law enforcement to make sure that Norma's case wasn't forgotten. On the first year anniversary of her murder, Norma's parents, Tomas and Gloria, her sisters, and even her sons,

passed out flyers, wore t-shirts, and put out posters to appeal for information. They did this right near the Kmart where Norma used to work. After almost another 18 months by 90s, November 1995, the former lead investigator in Norma's case, Detective Dennis Fitzgerald, was working for the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. The investigative team was alerted to a man who was suspected of killing at least five women throughout the United States. They wondered, even if this new person of interest wasn't responsible for all three killings that were unsolved,

he possibly could be the perpetrator of at least one. 33-year-old former Van Nuys resident Glenn Edward Rogers was known to be dangerous. He was already suspected in another murder in Los Angeles, which was strikingly similar to Cynthia Berger's killing that happened only nine weeks after Norma's. Glenn had been arrested in Kentucky following a high-speed chase, and it wasn't long before he was linked to these three other murders across the country due to his MO of strangling his victims

and then leaving their body in a bathtub and setting fire to the crime scene. To add to the suspicion in the community, residents had been calling in with dozens of sightings of Glenn in the past month, even though none of these could be confirmed. While on its face, it seemed like Glenn initially seemed like a good prospect for a potential suspect. Based on his movements around the time of the three unsolved cases, including Norma's, he was excluded for two reasons. One, it wasn't possible for him to be in Ventura County, and two, his blood type didn't match the DNA recovered from Cynthia's crime scene. So of course, this was disappointing,

but at least it was one more potential suspect eliminated. Now, After Cynthia Berger was found dead, the killings abruptly stopped and years went by. And these three cases remain unsolved. They all went cold, including Norma's. But seven years later, after Norma's murder in 2000, the Ventura County DA's office reopened her case. Now the Port Wai Nemi investigators were invited

to discuss cold cases and get input from various agencies. In the years since Norma slaying, there were advances in DNA-telling. technology, it had come a long way. And this meant retesting that physical evidence. It may offer some new clues. Now, almost a decade later, in May of 2002, Sergeant Ken Dobb had Norma's fingernail clippings

and the duct tape covering her face sent off for testing by forensic scientist, Shanan Barrios, at the County Sheriff's Crime Lab. But whoever had killed Norma wasn't actually listed in CODIS. They ran the DNA through it, no matches. So, in consultation with Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Richard Simon, Detective Paredes and Estrella and Sergeant Ted Snyder

contacted everyone who had been interviewed as part of the original investigation, and they obtained DNA samples for comparison. Now, this was a very intense and grueling job, but Detective Estrella had enormous picture on his desk, okay, for the past 10 years, from the beginning of this investigation. He had made a promise to her that he would find her killer, no matter what.

And he had tears in his eyes, when I watched an interview with him. These detectives were giving it their all, and they were not giving up. The months passed, this was a time-consuming process. But then, on the 10-year anniversary of Norma's murder in 2003, something serendipitous happened than no one could have believed. The crime lab contacted Detective Estrella

with a bombshell piece of information. A DNA match had been identified from Norma's right-hand fingernails. Detective Estrella couldn't even believe what he was hearing. This was the breakthrough that investigators were hoping for all of these years. They were elated over Norma's killer being identified. Can any of you guess who it was? Because finally, there was going to be justice. Her whole family had been living in a painful limbo this whole time. The Garcias had all personally held different theories as to who killed Norma, which was actually a source of conflict in their family, and it added to their anguish. As it turned out,

Law enforcement had actually interviewed the person that did this to Norma all the way back when they made their initial investigation in the beginning just following her murder. The man who had come up as contributing to the DNA found under Norma's fingernails was none other than her former co-worker and close friend. 39-year-old Warren Patrick Mackey. Wow. And he was suspicious from the start. Let me tell you about Warren. Well, by the time the DNA results came in, Warren had been living a quiet life totally under the radar his entire time he was getting away with murder. He'd actually been married for about five years and he moved to Ventura, even though by this time he was actually estranged from his most recent family.

Nobody knew that Warren had committed this brutal murder and managed to get away with it for so long. Warren was born on October 3, 1963 in Santa California. He had no criminal history, which was part of the reason why his DNA wasn't found in CODIS during the investigation and probably why they didn't suspect he had anything to do with this crime. Warren actually grew up on the East Coast in Syracuse, New York. He was the youngest child in his family of three older sisters. Sadly, Warren's mother had issues with alcohol abuse and did things like regularly making her children get up to clean the house in the middle of the night, kind of odd. And as a teen, Warren himself drank heavily and used drugs. As a young man, he moved back to California and then with his father in Port Wainimi,

which is why he was living there. But soon he was kicked out for not following his dad's rules. Warren went from low-paying job to low-paying job living in rented rooms, and then by 1990, the 26-year-old started working at Oxnard Kmart, and that is where he connected with Norma. But at one point in the next couple of years, years, Warren lost his job at Kmart and he lost touch with his friends, including Norma. But in February of 1993, just three months before Norma's murder, she and Warren resumed contact,

and I can't tell you why, but they did. By 2003, Warren had stopped using drugs and alcohol and was studying to become a drug and alcohol counselor, kind of ironic. He was no longer working due to a condition that caused him to develop uncontrollable muscle spous. and he was currently on disability, but he was still living his life. He had taken up a new hobby, camping, and he had a good circle of friends who all found him to be easygoing and pleasant,

if they only knew. It was now clear that Warren had not only managed to outsmart the initial polygraph, but he lied about his version of events on the night of the murder. The fact that he was the only one of Norma's large circle of friends who didn't attend her funeral always gave him The excuse that Warren gave their friends for not attending

was that he knew police would be in attendance and he didn't want to be picked up on an outstanding traffic warrant, which of course was a complete lie. That would definitely put some red flags up. Warren's DNA being found underneath Norma's fingernails was compelling, but the detectives knew they needed something else to shore up their case forensically. If Warren claimed his DNA was under Norma's fingernails

because maybe she innocently tells him, touched him, or maybe he could even claim that they'd been intimate together. This would be enough to create reasonable doubt in the minds of a jury. After all, Norma's friends had made it seem like Norma cared about making Warren feel included. And she didn't want to let him down too hard, so perhaps a jury may believe that their relationship had progressed. So the investigators went back and they looked over all the information that he gave in their initial interview, and something stood out.

Remember how Warren claimed that he would go out of his way to help Norma with odd jobs around her house? Well, he had given an example. He said that the boys had a basketball hoop and then it broke. So Warren fixed it with duct tape. Yeah. Going back, this was the only person that they interviewed that mentioned using duct tape or even being in possession of duct tape. And now with the DNA results, it seemed like this was more than a mere coincidence. Investigators wanted to see if Warren's DNA was somewhere that would be difficult to explain a way, like the duct tape. So in August, forensic scientist Edwin Jones ran Warren's DNA sample against the duct tape, focusing on the sections of the tape at the beginning and the end, which Norma's killer would have most likely had direct contact with.

But even more so, if they had ripped the ends with their teeth, which is a common practice when you're ripping the duct tape off of the roll. Well, as it turned out, Warren's DNA was on both ends of the duct tape, proving there was no doubt that he used it on Norma. When investigator Fitzgerald tried to replicate wrapping a length of tape around a mannequin's head to see if it was possible for Warren to have done this to Norma without leaving any DNA behind, he soon found there was no way he could have avoided some tape becoming stuck to himself through the process.

If you've watched any trials recently, you'd probably know that probability ratios when it comes to DNA evidence can be very helpful in securing convictions, but the numbers can also be kind of confusing for a jury to understand. But the odds of the DNA under Norma's fingernails and embedded in the duct tape came from somebody else and not Warren were one in 810 billion. So I think that's kind of easy to understand.

But they still knew in order to secure a conviction, they had to go back over the original case file and cover everything, fill in all the holes in Warren's story and find out what really happened. Remember Warren's alibi was that he went to a club in Santa Barbara the night of Norma's murder, and that was corroborated by friends. But they wondered, had Warren really been asleep for the rest of the night after arriving home at 2 a.m. like he claimed? On August 27, 2003, Detective Fitzgerald and Denny Thompson got Warren back in for another interview to see if he would incriminate himself.

It was just the last attempt for Warren to come clean if he wanted to. Detective Fitzgerald even showed Warren the DNA results. But Warren denied ever seeing or using any duct tape at Norma's house and completely rejected what police were putting in front of him. He remained cool, calm, and collected. However, he couldn't explain why his DNA would have been underneath Norma's fingernails or on the duct tape that was wrapped around her head. And soon, Warren decided he didn't want to answer any questions

and he invoked his right to remain silent. Of course he did. This didn't stop law enforcement from arresting Warren who was charged with first-degree murder and facing a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison. This is ridiculous. For an arrest that had been such a long time coming, this satisfaction in relation felt by everyone close to the case

was overwhelming. This was especially true for Norma's two sons, Andrew and Austin, who were now 21 and 14 years old. The family stayed tight-lipped following the news of the arrest, but after Warren's appearance in court, on August 29th, Norma's sister Gloria spoke, on the behalf of the Garcia family outside the court, and she said that they wanted to thank God for giving them strength to get through these last painful 10 years. Can you even imagine? Norma's family

still knew there was a long road ahead of them for Warren's trial. After a delay of several weeks to allow Warren's attorney to review his case, he pleaded not guilty on September 18th. Outside the courtroom, Norma's sister Frances now made a statement, and she said that she prayed for years that technology would catch up with whoever did this and it looks like it finally happened and that she didn't understand what went through the mind of a person who does something like this. To react that way to rejection by killing a woman. She said it was such a waste. So many people were hurt. Her two children will never fully get over it. And what was the motive? Well, that's what was suspected. Rejection. Even though I've explained a lot of the details, enormous

story already up until now, the public had no idea of the specifics of this case. They knew Warren had been arrested because his DNA was at the scene. And they also knew that they'd previously worked together, but that was about it. They hadn't heard of any of the romantic intentions on his part. While at Warren's preliminary hearing on March 25th, 2004, several prosecution witnesses testified, including Anthony's brother Hector and Norma's older son Andrew. The prosecution was still considering whether to pursue charges of first degree or second-degree murder. They still weren't certain they could prove a level of premeditation. And the defense was

clinging to its own theory that Warren's DNA was under enormous fingernails and on the duct tape for an innocent reason. I guess they could say something like, well, he was fixing things around the house like he said, or, you know, they did have a consensual relationship of some kind, but there was no evidence that she had any sexual relations. So that was interesting. Like, where are you going to go with this? But almost a year later on January 10, 2005, while awaiting trial, Warren changed his mind. He decided to change his plea to guilty to second-degree murder. Unfortunately for Norma's family, Warren never gave an explanation as to why he brutally and callously took Norma's life. According to him, he claimed he couldn't remember the details of that night in question due to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Even if Warren was receiving a lighter sentence, he was still facing up to a life. in prison. But what it meant for him to get second-degree murder is that he would potentially be eligible for parole much sooner if he was ever granted parole. And that's something that no one wants to hear. On March 28, 2005, at Warren's sentencing, the prosecutor set out their theory of the case. And this is what I'm sure you wanted to hear. The details, what they think happened. They believe that on the afternoon of May 29th, Warren possibly stole Norma's keys during her Memorial Day barbecue, which Warren attended as a guest. And because he couldn't get over, the continual rejection that Norma kept turning him down, he came up with a plan. The following night on May 30th,

he drove up to Santa Barbara with his roommate and their girlfriend to go clubbing. After coming back home from the club in the early morning hours of May 31st, Warren then made his way to Norma's house, gaining entry by using her own keys and bringing the duct tape with him. Warren most likely found Norma sleep on the living room couch because it wasn't unusual for her to doze off while watching TV. The prosecutor said that he might have made a last-ditch effort to see if Norma would get romantically involved with him or have sex with him. Or maybe he already had murder on his mind. Maybe his plan could have been to violate her and that's why her zipper was down. That maybe he was going to make her pay for rejecting him one too many times. But of course it's difficult to

speculate what the motive was. It's not 100% certain. What's clear though, is that when Andrew was at his father's for that weekend, Austin was in his bedroom just feet away, or even watching from a distance. Warren attacked Norma, taking her by surprise. After strangling her to death with his hands, Warren then wrapped duct tape around and around Norma's head before leaving and returning to his house like nothing happened. Poor little Austin was left in that house

with his mother's dead body for at least 24 hours. Austin told Andrew as best he could the following night would have happened, but not understanding what really went on other than knowing that his mom was maybe sick and she had a band-aid on her face, which is just heartbreaking to hear. It was only on the morning of June 1st when Anthony came to pick up the boys that anyone realized the true horror of what occurred. And the prosecutor said that this was a senseless and terrible crime,

and although Warren pleaded guilty, he still had not come clean. The family felt so frustrated, because of that, because there were so many questions. Then Norma's loved ones delivered their victim impact statements. Their rage and their anguish could be felt throughout that courtroom. Norma's mother spoke through a Spanish interpreter and she held a photograph of her daughter, along with one of the original flyers and she said through tears,

I want to know why he did this. I want him to see that he caused this great pain. I feel like I have been stabbed. Every time he wakes up, when he looks at those hands, he should remember that we're going to be in his hands, that with those hands he killed. He destroyed life. Every time I see her children,

they remind me of their mother. Norma's sister Ophelia cursed Warren. She explained it as though he murdered all of the family, not just her sister. And then when it came to Warren's turn to address the court and Norma's family, all he said was, quote, I sit here with a deep sense of sadness and remorse.

I took a mother, sister, niece, and friend. You deserve an apology. I am truly sorry." End quote. Yeah. Well, I think he's a sorry excuse for a human being. Nothing human about this man at all or what he did to Norma.

At this point, Judge Curtis sentenced 41-year-old Warren to 15 years to life in prison. Outside court, 22-year-old Andrews spoke of his relief that justice had finally been served for his mother. He told the public he was a little overwhelmed. And now they just had to keep an eye on each other because it was finally done and he was relieved. Now in August of 2012, Warren was actually eligible for parole,

but denied for a further 10 years. And then in April 2022, he voluntarily waived his right to another hearing for a further 12 months. And in August of the following year, he was again denied parole for another five years, and this will probably go on and on, and hopefully he will continue to be denied. Now, in case you're wondering what happened to the two other unsolved cases,

which occurred in nine weeks following Norma's, you'll be pleased to know that they were both solved, with the perpetrators now being behind bars. In 2003, 34-year-old former handyman, Michael Schultz, was convicted for Cynthia Berger's murder, and he was sent to death row. Then in 2011, 35-year-old Ricardo Villa was convicted and sentenced to death

for Beatrice Vellis' murder. 60-year-old Warren Mackie continues to reside at Valley State Prison in California. At the time of this recording, his next parole hearing is scheduled for August 2028, let's hope his parole is denied. The fact that Warren was eventually brought to justice, after so many years, was incredibly rewarding for the investigative team,

and it brought an overwhelming sense of relief to her family. They no longer had this feeling that they were looking over their shoulder, not knowing who took Norma's life. And they are going to continue to fight with everything they have to ensure that Warren is never released. But the real tragedy, of course, is that Norma's two sons had to grow up without their mother by their side, without her guiding them and loving them the way she would have if she was here today. All because she refused a man's advances.

And it's all too common for a woman to die at the hands of her rejected man. It's senseless, and I wish there was advice that I could give, but these things are just so unpredictable, that someone would take it to that experience. is not something we ever think will happen. And I'm sure that Norma did not see it coming because it could happen to anyone. It's our right to choose who we want to spend time with and get close to, but it's sad that our choice

can also be a death sentence. Andrew and Austin had their fair share of emotional struggles that they had to deal with. Austin has a tattoo on his arm of his mother's name and a crucifix, along with the words in loving memory. It's clear that Norma's loved ones have continued to do an incredible job of keeping her memory

her memory alive and I hope that I have done the same with this video. That way no one will ever forget her, including her two boys. Thank you so very much for watching this video. And being here for Norma Story, I hope to see you in my next one. Bye.