David J. Quiroz, the Hollister man accused in the killing of 25-year-old Heather Carroll in October 2012, pleaded no contest Monday to first-degree murder.
Quiroz, 33 at the time of the slaying, is suspected of killing the young mother at a local residence. Carroll went missing Oct. 10 after dropping off her 5-year-old boy at Ladd Lane Elementary School. Two days later, police held a standoff with Quiroz at his home on Cerra Vista Drive before he surrendered and took them to Carroll’s body on the property.
Quiroz, who previously pleaded not guilty to the crime, had faced charges alleging homicide and kidnapping for ransom. He has been represented by public defender Gregory LaForge.
Quiroz had been scheduled to start a jury trial Monday. Instead, he arrived in court and entered the new plea. Monday’s no contest plea acts as an admission of guilt in the court of law.
“He suffered great remorse and didn’t want the family to go through a trial,” LaForge said Monday in an interview with the Free Lance.
Quiroz told investigators shortly after his arrest that he had started an argument between the two, police alleged. Authorities had Quiroz in custody at about 3 a.m. after the overnight standoff. Police alleged that Quiroz admitted to the killing and took authorities to her body, recovered at about 5:30 a.m. LaForge initially challenged the admission given by Quiroz at the scene where authorities found the body.
Carroll is originally from Washington. In 2011, she moved to Hollister with her husband and son.
Quiroz is set for a sentence hearing Sept. 18, LaForge said. He has been in the county jail since his arrest.
“I think it’s a tragedy anyway you look at it,” LaForge said. “Nobody won.”
District Attorney Candice Hooper oversaw the prosecution. She stressed how there was no plea agreement and Quiroz merely accepted the murder charge.
“What do you say? Him going to prison is not going to bring her back,” Hooper said.
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