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Cops called at home of student who was brutally murdered and set on fire...and failed to realise her attacker was inside

Jessica Young |

A STUDENT who was brutally murdered may have been saved from death by cops who called at her home and failed to realise she was in danger.

Andrea DelVesco, 21, was stabbed multiple times and then set on fire in the apartment block where she lived.

Her mother Leslie, told CNN she "will never know" if her daughter was alive when her body was engulfed in flames.

Describing her as a girl "who loved to help people" she said when she asked about the fact cops had come to DelVesco's home on the night of her death and said they had seen nothing, she was "rebuffed vigorously."

Student Andrea DelVesco, 21, suffered a brutal death after she was stabbed multiple times and then set alight in her own bed last year

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Student Andrea DelVesco, 21, suffered a brutal death after she was stabbed multiple times and then set alight in her own bed last yearCredit: CNN
The fun loving UCLA student was so badly burned she was originally labeled Jane Doe until she could be identified

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The fun loving UCLA student was so badly burned she was originally labeled Jane Doe until she could be identifiedCredit: CNN
Tragically cops came to apartments where she was killed after a neighbour reported screams which she thought were coming from her flat in LA, but failed she discover she was in danger

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Tragically cops came to apartments where she was killed after a neighbour reported screams which she thought were coming from her flat in LA, but failed she discover she was in dangerCredit: CNN

Sarah Muhr, a neighbour who lived in the flat above called police after hearing screams and a dog whimpering.

She had previously seen a man in the stairwell of the block in West Los Angeles, who then bolted from the property.

Muhr, also a student at UCLA, along with DelVesco, had taken her boyfriend to the airport and was up early on that tragic day in September 2015.

Her mother Leslie said she would never know if her daughter could have been saved

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Her mother Leslie said she would never know if her daughter could have been savedCredit: CNN
The police came back to the block 30 minutes after their first visit and by that time the room was on fire - Leslie told CNN she felt she was "rebuffed" when she questioned them

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The police came back to the block 30 minutes after their first visit and by that time the room was on fire - Leslie told CNN she felt she was "rebuffed" when she questioned themCredit: CNN

She called 911, and told the police about the noises and the mystery man - in tape recording obtained by CNN, she can be heard saying: "I know the girl below me has a dog."

Four officers came to the property - Rhoadell Sudduth and Thomas Montague, veteran cops, were in one car and Alisha Williams and Erick Tillett, who were rookies, were in the other.

Sudduth and Williams were seasoned veterans; Montague and Tillett their rookie trainees.

According to police tapes a neighbour, Sarah Muhr, made the initial call because she heard a dog whimpering and a woman screaming

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According to police tapes a neighbour, Sarah Muhr, made the initial call because she heard a dog whimpering and a woman screamingCredit: CNN
DelVesco's beloved pup was found badly burned by her body - he had to be put to sleep because his injuries were so severe

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DelVesco's beloved pup was found badly burned by her body - he had to be put to sleep because his injuries were so severeCredit: CNN
In the police report discovered by CNN, it stated that the two cops who came to the property shined a light in DelVesco's bedroom but failed to see her in there

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In the police report discovered by CNN, it stated that the two cops who came to the property shined a light in DelVesco's bedroom but failed to see her in thereCredit: CNN

According to a police report, written by Sudduth, after a check of the property for forced entry, Williams, along with herself, shined a flashlight into the bedroom where DelVesco was being held and observed the bed, but no occupants."

Her body would be found in that spot 30 minutes later.
They left saying there was "no evidence of a crime."

However Muhr who had "an uneasy feeling" was soon proved right as she saw the mysterious man again, this time leaving the apartment.

Neighbour Muhr called them back when she saw man, who she didn't recognise, who had been lurking around earlier, leaving the apartment

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Neighbour Muhr called them back when she saw man, who she didn't recognise, who had been lurking around earlier, leaving the apartmentCredit: CNN
By then it was too late as the flames had engulfed Delvesco's room - her roommates were woken by the fire alarm

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By then it was too late as the flames had engulfed Delvesco's room - her roommates were woken by the fire alarmCredit: CNN

Moments later she was on the phone to 911, this time saying: "I just called the cops about a girl screaming and I just saw the guy who was in there run out of her room and it looks like her room is on fire."

Tragically, DelVesco's roomates had slept through the screams, and were woken by the sound of a fire alarm and smoke.

Her "best friend" Jessica Westling tried in vain to get inside but it was too difficult

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Her "best friend" Jessica Westling tried in vain to get inside but it was too difficultCredit: CNN

Jessica Westling, who said DelVesco was her "best friend in the world" tried desperately to get inside the burning room but the flames were too intense.

DelVesco's mum Leslie told the news network she would "never know" if her daughter was alive when the police went to check the apartment: "I think the only person who knows is the person who killed her."

Two men were arrested for the grisly crime - Alberto Medina and Eric Marquez, and they pleaded not guilty

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Two men were arrested for the grisly crime - Alberto Medina and Eric Marquez, and they pleaded not guiltyCredit: CNN

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DelVesco's mother says if they could have got to her before the fire, even if her daughter was already dead, they could have remembered her the way she was

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DelVesco's mother says if they could have got to her before the fire, even if her daughter was already dead, they could have remembered her the way she wasCredit: CNN
The two cops who were involved in checking the flat have been fired

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The two cops who were involved in checking the flat have been firedCredit: CNN

She added if cops had found her and she was already dead, they could have at least seen her as she was before the fire: "We could have seen Andrea as we remembered her, before her body was burned so badly that they needed dental records to identify her.

"I could have held her one last time."

Two men were arrested for the grisly crime - Alberto Medina and Eric Marquez, and they pleaded not guilty.

They have also been accused of committing a burglary in an apartment across the street from DelVesco.

Women's underwear and a bloodied knife were found in Medina's flat.

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