Paul Perez faces charges in 2007 cold case
A silence fell over the courtroom, amplifying the sound of every sniffle, as Paul Allen Perez stood in an adjoined holding cell waiting to be arraigned.
The 57-year-old father is accused of killing five of his infant children between 1992 and 2001 — including Nikko Lee Perez whose body was discovered by a fisherman at Conway Slough just east of Woodland in March 2007.
Accompanied by Public Defender Tracie Olsen, Perez appeared in front of Judge Peter Williams at Yolo Superior Court on Tuesday and pled not guilty to charges including five counts of murder with enhancements for lying in wait and torture.
He is also facing four counts of assault on a child under age 8 with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death as well as a number of case enhancements.
In a press conference held at Yolo County Jail Monday, Sheriff Tom Lopez announced Perez’s arrest.
According to Lopez, the cold case has haunted his department for over a decade.
After the body was found in 2007, no significant leads were made until a DNA comparison was able to identify Nikko — born in Fresno in 1996 — last year.
“A missing person DNA program uploaded the infant’s DNA to the CODIS where it was checked every week for direct matches,” California DOJ Chief Ed Medrano said Monday.
“When those searches failed to yield results, we expanded our search to look for kinship-based matches. Using DNA technology developed by scientists at the California Department of Justice, we were able to create a list of potential siblings or parents of the victim. That approach allowed us to locate the probable father of the infant in this case.”
After that, “countless hours” were spent furthering the case to where it is now, Lopez said.
Investigators found that Nikko had multiple siblings. Born in Merced in 1992, Kato Allen Perez was known to have died. Though their remains have not been located, law enforcement believes Mike Alena Perez born in Merced 1995, Nikko Lee Perez born in Fresno in 1997 and Kato Krow Perez born in Fresno in 2001 are dead as well.
Lopez noted that the kids had similar names, calling it “unusual” and “suspicious.”
The working theory is all five were under 6 months old when they were killed.
If convicted, Perez could face life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig said Monday his office had yet to decide whether it would seek the death penalty.
Further details of the case were limited as the investigation is ongoing.
A preliminary hearing has been set for Monday, Feb. 10 in Department 11.
Perez will remain in Yolo County Jail on a no-bail hold.
Source: dailydemocrat.com, H. Kemp, January 28, 2020
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
