When Jose "Pepe" Herran didn't call his mother on her birthday in November 2015, Virginia Rodriguez knew something was fundamentally wrong. Jose never missed that call. It was a ritual, a tether between a mother and her son that simply didn't break—until it did. For five years, the silence was deafening. No phone calls, no sightings, just a void where a person used to be.
The truth about what happened to Jose Herran is significantly darker than a simple disappearance. It wasn't just a missing person case; it was a calculated execution that stayed hidden for years under a layer of arson, insurance fraud, and a literal "web of crime" in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Honestly, the details that eventually came out in a Luzerne County courtroom are the kind of thing you usually only see in a gritty HBO miniseries.
The Disappearance and the First Red Flags
Jose Herran was last seen alive in October 2015. He had been living at a boarding house in Freeland, Pennsylvania, affectionately or perhaps notoriously known as "the cottage." The property was owned by a man named Roberto Torner. At the time, Jose was acquainted with both Torner and another man, David Alzugaray.
Investigators later pinned down the window of his death between October 13 and November 17, 2015. But for a long time, there was nothing. No body. No forensic trail. Just a missing man and a family holding onto a phone number that never rang.
The break in the case didn't come from a brilliant Sherlock Holmes moment. It came from fire. On August 6, 2016, a massive arson leveled three homes on Third Street in Weatherly. The target? A property owned by Roberto Torner. He wanted the insurance money—roughly $245,000. But when the ATF and local police started digging into the ashes of that insurance scam, they found much more than charred wood. They found the thread that led straight to Jose Herran.
A Macabre Discovery on Buck Mountain Road
The investigation into the arson acted like a spotlight on Torner’s other activities. As agents interviewed former employees and associates, a terrifying story began to emerge. A witness named Donald Warren, who had worked for Torner, eventually broke the silence. He told police that Torner had asked him—no joke—at least 25 times to help kill Jose Herran.
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Warren refused. But he saw the night it happened. He saw Herran get into a van with Torner and Alzugaray. He saw Torner flash a .22 caliber revolver. When the two men returned later that night, they smelled of fuel oil and smoke. They didn't just return with a secret; they returned with a story.
The Forensic Evidence
Authorities eventually focused on a property at 6851 North Buck Mountain Road in Foster Township. It was here, in a burn pit, that the grim reality of what happened to Jose Herran was confirmed.
Investigators recovered:
- Tiny fragments of a human skull.
- Bone shards that had been subjected to extreme heat.
- Evidence of dismemberment tools, including butcher knives and a machete.
The details are stomach-turning. Alzugaray later confessed that he shot Herran in the head with a .22 caliber pistol. But they didn't stop there. To hide the crime, they dismembered the body, burned what they could in a pit, and tossed the remaining remains into the Lehigh River.
The Trial and the 2025 Updates
The legal battle was a marathon. Roberto Torner was already serving time for federal gun and drug charges (including possessing stolen C-4 explosives) when the homicide charges finally landed. In May 2023, the murder trial finally took place.
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It was a heavy-hitting case. The prosecution brought in witnesses who testified that Torner had a history of talking about "getting rid of bodies" and even claimed to have experience with it from his past in New Jersey. Torner tried to claim it was self-defense—that Herran had attacked Alzugaray and was shot while running away. The jury didn't buy it for a second.
The Sentences:
- Roberto Torner: Convicted of first-degree murder. On August 24, 2023, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He recently lost an appeal in July 2025, where the Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld his conviction.
- David Alzugaray-Lugones: Pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and conspiracy. He received a sentence of 17 to 45 years.
In early 2025, Torner added another ten years to his tally for the original arson that started this whole domino effect. He is, for all intents and purposes, never coming out.
Why This Case Stuck With People
There is something particularly haunting about a crime that is so "cleanly" erased that it takes five years to find even a fragment of the victim. Jose Herran wasn't just killed; his killers tried to delete his physical existence.
The case also highlighted a massive "web of crime" that local residents had suspected for years. We’re talking about a guy (Torner) who owned multiple properties, dealt in heroin, kept military-grade explosives, and used his tenants as potential hitmen. It’s a miracle more people weren't hurt before the Weatherly fire brought the whole house of cards down.
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Key Insights and Takeaways
If you are following cases like this or live in the area, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding justice in "cold" disappearance cases:
- Persistence Matters: The DEA, ATF, and local Pennsylvania State Police kept this file open for years despite having no body.
- The Arson Connection: It's a reminder that criminals often get caught for a "smaller" crime (insurance fraud) that eventually uncovers their most heinous acts.
- Victim Advocacy: If you or someone you know is looking for updates on similar cold cases in Pennsylvania, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office remains the primary point of contact for case status.
The closure for Virginia Rodriguez and the Herran family finally came in the form of a life sentence. While they will never get Jose back, the man who orchestrated his disappearance is now a permanent resident of the Pennsylvania prison system.
Next Steps for Readers
If you're interested in the forensic side of this case, you can look up the "Friday the 13th Murders" episode on Investigation Discovery, which features interviews with the actual investigators, including Police Chief Michael Bogart and DA Daniel Zola. It provides a deeper look at the specific bone fragment recovery that eventually put Torner away. For those tracking the legal side, the 2025 Superior Court ruling (Com. v. Torner) is public record and details exactly why his appeals were denied.