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Cold-case murder suspect headed to trial in Carbon County

A magistrate in Carbon County says there's enough evidence to send Luis Sierra to trial for the murder of 15-year-old Evelyn Colon.

WEATHERLY, Pa. — Luis Sierra of Queens, New York is headed to trial in Carbon County. Police say Sierra shot, killed, and dismembered the body of his girlfriend, 15-year-old Evelyn Colon. 

The murder happened in 1976.

Colon's body, along with her unborn child, was found along the Lehigh River stuffed into suitcases.

Sierra was arrested earlier this month in New York and brought back to Pennsylvania.

"We are getting justice, and this person got away with it for 44 years. He lived, he had parties, birthdays, and he was living the good life. But like I said, there's a God," said Luis Colon, Evelyn's brother.

Before the preliminary hearing in Weatherly, emotions were running high for the victim's family. This was the first time they've seen Sierra in person in more than four decades.

"He was my friend. Sierra was my friend. He was my next-door neighbor. Why he do this?" asked Colon.

"I want justice, yes. I want to know why he did it. Why? I want him to confess the truth, that's all, for my sister," said Leida Colon, Evelyn's sister.

"He's an evil person, that's why. He knows he did it. I know he did it; he knows he did it," said Luis Colon.

For years, Evelyn Colon was known as "Beth Doe," and her death remained a mystery. 

In 2007, the victim's body was removed from a cemetery in Weatherly for DNA testing. Results showed a link to a living family member who confirmed their relative, Evelyn Colon, had gone missing back in the 1970s. That living family member was Luis Colon Jr., who is Evelyn's nephew, and Luis Colon Sr.'s son.

"He said, 'Dad, I don't know, but I have to take this DNA test for some reason.' He said, 'I have to take this DNA because I want to see if we can find Evelyn,'" said Colon.

Luis Sierra is locked up in the Carbon County Prison. The magistrate denied the defense request for bail. There's no date on when Sierra will be back in court.

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