Edgar Valles was 22 and living in La Puente when he was murdered on January 27, 2004, in South Whittier. Valles went with friends Mario Larios and Fernando Pina to look at a customized Chevrolet Monte Carlo advertised for sale. They met the seller, Cimarron Bell, at a gas station and followed him to his home on Inez Street, believing they were going to buy the car. Instead, Bell and an accomplice, Briaell Lee, shot and killed all three men.

The victims’ bodies were later found inside Larios’ leased Mercedes-Benz, abandoned behind a shopping center in La Mirada. Investigators determined the killings were part of a scheme to rob and kill prospective buyers. Bell and Lee were identified as the primary suspects; law enforcement linked physical evidence, including DNA and blood found at Bell’s residence, to the crimes. Bell was later convicted on multiple counts of first-degree murder and received a death sentence; Lee was also convicted for his role.

Did anyone who knew Edgar or the others ever see them the week before January 27, 2004?