was that she went to valencia high school with cathy. and then upon closer examination, we were able to see that the receipts from sav-on were from a different sav-on than the one that cathy worked at. and this was basically, like, her keepsake file. reporter: she d saved those articles just because she knew someone who got murdered? correct. reporter: so this had nothing to do with her husband who was in prison at all? who absolutely nothing. reporter: so you re back to basically no suspects. no, we re back to sam.
they marched in rallies, lobbied officials for greater victims rights, and spoke with then-california governor pete wilson about cathy s murder. they even contributed to reward funds, some of it by selling tamales at the local fair. you were doing just about everything you could think of, weren t you? yes. yes. well, you have to. you have to, because you don t have the name or the resources to do it on your own. so then you look, then you knock on a lot of doors, trying to keep it out there. reporter: the torrez family says they spent thousands of hours knocking on doors, speaking at events, all in the hope that cathy s case would not lie forgotten in a filing cabinet. and mary did something else too. i worked part time for the city. and it just so happened that my desk was right at the door the hallway that connected the police department with the city. and so they would see me sitting at my desk when they walked into city hall. reporter: so every new police
that wasn t the only promise cathy s mother made. i didn t know how long i d be i would have to wait. but i knew that we had to do everything that we could to get the answer. reporter: because? because she was my daughter. and someone had taken her away from me. someone had done something horrible to her and they someone needed to be accountable. reporter: no one could have imagined at the time just how long mary s quest for justice would take. detectives have a few questions for one of cathy s closest friends. the minute i said no to her, she blew up. she started cussing me out. i knew about the tremors. but when i started seeing things, i didn t know what was happening.
reporter: at the time of the murder, dna tests could only be done on big samples like blood spatter. but in the years since, analysis became possible for touch-dna, the microscopic calling cards the microscopic calling card many of us leave behind just by putting our hands on something. if sam and javier did place cathy s body in the car s trunk, maybe, thought larry, there would be touch-dna on her clothes. search for dna in the areas that might be grabbed. especially areas that might be grabbed that don t have blood on them, from cathy. so you looked, what, on the ankles and under her arms? ankles, arms, i think under the legs. sometimes, you know, in the reporter: daron wyatt send out the evidence for touch dna. you optimistic? or are you thinking, shot in the dark?
coincidence continued to bother them, police were forced to agree. but that left the investigation with nowhere to go. whoever had killed cathy was still out there walking around. yes. still out there. enjoying the sun. reporter: breathing the same air you re breathing? yes. reporter: you think about that a lot? i did. especially if it was a beautiful day. reporter: those sunny days turned dark. months passed. seasons changed. and still the torrez family was left wondering who had killed cathy. something that never changed was mary steadfast in her resolve to get justice for her daughter. early on, a friend gave her some advice. she said, remember, mary, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. don t let anyone tell you different. you keep going. and that s what i did. reporter: mary and her family sought the attention of the media.