GANG RIVALRY MAY HAVE LED TO TEEN DEATHS

SPRINGS» Natalie COLORADO Partida and two of her girlfriends were allegedly marked for abduction, torture and possibly rape — part of a gang-related scheme to get them to disclose who might have shot up two apartment buildings in Colorado Springs.

Whether the Coronado High School sophomore had a role in a feud between the South Side Soldados and a rival gang called the Meadows isn’t clear, but according to Angelita Prado, it’s what motivated Partida’s March 11 kidnapping and murder.

Partida’s body was found a day after her abduction. The body of Derek Greer, her 15-year-old classmate, lay beside her.

Greer was killed because he was a witness to his friend’s slaying, Prado told investigators. She is one of 10 people who face charges in the teens’ deaths.

The claims of gang links emerged during a preliminary hearing for three of the five defendants. The hearing is expected to last the rest of the week.