The silent ride home

I've had this photograph of Irene Franco, left, in my drawer for nearly 20 years. She was with her boyfriend at a Carson drive-in in 1989 when three men beat him with a board and took turns raping her. She was found shot to death in a field the next day. Jesus Martinez survived.

The crime occurred about six months before I came to work for the Daily Breeze. On the crime's first anniversary, I decided to update the search for the killers. No reporter had ever talked to Martinez, so I contacted him. He agreed to talk, but the interview had to be at his attorney's downtown Los Angeles office. I had to drive him.

I picked him up and headed up the Harbor Freeway. This was difficult for him. He had not been out much after the crime. He was too afraid to leave his South Bay home.

When we parked near his lawyer's office, Martinez appeared to be frightened to walk down the street. I will never forget how he watched every person on the sidewalk..

He  didn't say much during the interview. It was too traumatic for him. I recognized it quickly and didn't press him. I drove him home and never bothered him again.

In 2006, DNA led to the arrests of three men. One is now on trial in downtown Los Angeles. Martinez described the horrible crime to a jury on Monday.

His testimony made me recall our walk on that downtown street, the brief interview and the silent ride home.