Juan Vallejo Corona (February 7, 1934 – March 4, 2019) was a Mexican serial spree killer was convicted of the murders of 25 transient laborers found buried in peach orchards along the Feather River in Sutter County, California, in 1971. Corona was considered the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history until the discovery of Dean Corll's crimes two years later. He remains the most prolific serial killer in the state of California.
Corona was convicted of 25 counts of first-degree murder in 1973. An appellate court overturned the conviction in 1978 on the basis of incompetent legal representation and granted him a new trial. In 1982, he was again found guilty on all counts. He served a life sentence in California State Prison, Corcoran, and died in 2019.
Early life Juan Corona was born in Ayutla, Jalisco, Mexico, on February 7, 1934. He first illegally entered the United States through the California border in 1950 at age 16, following the footsteps of his four brothers and one sister. He picked carrots and melons in the Imperial Valley for three months before moving on north to the Sacramento Valley. His half-brother, José Natividad Corona Sánchez, later attacked a man with a machete-like weapon in Marysville and after losing the lawsuit, fled back to his native Mexico. Corona was a Catholic and attended St. Isadore's Catholic Church.
In May 1953, Corona moved to the Marysville–Yuba City area at the suggestion of Natividad, finding work on a local ranch. He was first married to Gabriella E. Hermosillo on October 24, 1953, in Reno, Nevada.Washoe County Clerk, Reno, NV, Marriage License No. 386376. In 1958, he married Gloria I. Moreno, and they had four daughters, Martha, Victoria, Yolanda and Guadalupe.
Mental illness In January 1956, after what was thought to be a schizophrenic episode, Natividad had Corona committed to DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California, where he was diagnosed with "schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type." He received 23 electroconvulsive therapy sessions before he was declared recovered and released three months later. He was deported to Mexico upon his release.
In 1962, Corona was given a green card and returned to the United States legally, where he was regarded as a hard worker with schizophrenic episodes and a violent temper. He became a licensed labor contractor, in charge of hiring fruit ranch workers. In March 1970, he was again admitted to Dewitt for treatment. In March 1971, he applied for and was denied welfare.
Evidence On May 19, 1971, a farm owner who had used Corona to contract field workers noticed a freshly dug hole in his peach orchard, which was filled the next day. In the hole was the body of a man who had been stabbed and hacked.
In one grave, deputies found two meat receipts bearing Corona's signature.Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1972, "The State --- Corona Receipts Found in Grave, Trial Told", p. A2 In another two graves, there were two crumpled Bank of America deposit slips printed with Corona's name and address. This circumstantial evidence supported their case.
Witnesses later told police that some of the victims had been last seen riding in Corona's pickup truck.
In the early morning hours of May 26, 1971, police entered Corona's Yuba City home with a search warrant and arrested him. Evidence indicating his guilt was discovered and seized, such as two bloodstained knives, a machete, a pistol, and blood-stained clothing. There was also a work ledger that contained 34 names and dates, including seven of the known victims. The ledger came to be referred to as a "death list" by the prosecution, who alleged it recorded the dates the men were murdered.
Corona had been supplying workers to the ranches where the victims were discovered. Most of the victims were discovered on the Sullivan Ranch, which had a bunkhouse where Corona housed many of the men who worked for him.
Victims All of Corona's victims were middle-aged Caucasian male drifters between the ages of 40 and 64; most of them had criminal records, and all but one were stabbed or slashed with a knife or machete.
+Victims (charged)NumberNameAgeDeath DateMethod of Killing1John Joseph Haluka52February 25 – May 11, 1971Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.2Sigurd E. "Pete" Beierman623John Doe (4th victim found)Unknown4John Doe (7th victim found)5William Emery Kamp62February 26 – May 12, 1971Shot in the head w/ a 9mm.6Clarence Hocking53Stabbed/slashed w/ a knife or machete.7John Doe (10th victim found)Unknown8John Doe (12th victim found)9Albert Leon "Scratchy" Hayes58February 27 – May 13, 197110Warren Jerome Kelley62 March 30, 197111John Henry Jackson64May 3–14, 197112Joseph J. Maczak54April 26 – May 21, 197113Mark Beverly Shields56 April 28, 197114Donald Dale "Red" Smith60April 30 – May 11, 197115James Wylie Howard64May 1–13, 197116Sam Bonafiede (a.k.a. Joe Carriveau)55 May 6, 197117Edward Martin Cupp43May 9–13, 197118Charles Levy Fleming67 May 11, 197119Jonah Raggio Smallwood56 May 12, 197120Elbert J.T. Riley4521Lloyd Wallace Wenztel60May 14–22, 197122Paul Buel Allen59 May 15, 197123Raymond Reand Muchache47 May 18, 197124Kenneth Edward Whitacre40 May 19, 197125Melford Everett Sample59 May 21, 1971
Legal proceedings
Corona was provided legal aid and assigned a public defender, Roy Van den Heuvel, who hired several psychiatrists to perform a psychological evaluation. Although the sheriff, Roy Whiteaker, said the prisoner was in no apparent or immediate danger from his fellow townsmen, Corona was moved to the new and larger county jail in Marysville on May 30, 1971, for "security reasons."Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1971, "Suspect in Mass Murders Moved to Marysville Jail", p. 1
On June 2, Corona was returned to Sutter County for arraignment, which was closed to the media and public. A plea of not guilty was entered, and a date was set for Corona's preliminary hearing.Los Angeles Times, June 3, 1971, "Yuba City Mass Murder Suspect Pleads Innocent", p. 1
By the time the search was terminated on June 4, a total of 25 male victims had been discovered. Four of them were unidentified.
On June 14, Van den Heuvel was replaced by Richard Hawk, a privately retained defense attorney. In return for his legal representation, an agreement was made granting Hawk exclusive literary and dramatic property rights to the defendant's life story, including the proceedings against him. Under the agreement, Corona waived the attorney–client privilege. Shortly after taking over the defense, and even before seeing Corona's medical record or reading any of the reports, Hawk decided against having him plead not guilty by reason of insanity and fired the psychiatrists.Los Angeles Times, June 16, 1971, "No Plea of Insanity Planned for Corona,'" p. 32
Corona complained of chest pain from his cell in Yuba City on June 18 and was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with having had a mild heart attack.Los Angeles Times, from Yuba City (UPI), June 30, 1971, "Mild Heart Attack Suffered By Corona", p. 18 The grand jury returned a 25-count murder indictment against him on July 12.Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1971, "Jury Raises Corona Murder Counts to 25", p. 18A In early August, Corona was hospitalized again after complaining of chest pain and saying he had not been able to sleep because of it.Los Angeles Times, from Yuba City (UPI), August 9, 1971, "Corona Hospitalized 2nd Time After Complaining of Chest Pain", p. 3
Trial It took over a year after the murders were discovered for the case against Corona to come to trial. The California Supreme Court voided the death penalty in the state on February 18, 1972, ruling it unconstitutional, cruel, and unusual.Los Angeles Times, February 18, 1972, "No Death Penalty — Cal. Court Voids It; Appeal Likely — Punishment Ruled 'Cruel and Unusual,'" p. 1 Therefore, it would not be a capital case. Hawk succeeded in getting a change of venue from Sutter County to Solano County.
The trial began on September 11, 1972, at the courthouse in Fairfield, California, more than from Yuba City. Jury selection took several weeks, and the trial took another three months.
Though Corona denied culpability, he was not called to the stand to testify in his own defense, and no defense witnesses were called. The jury deliberated for 45 hours and returned a verdict on January 18, 1973, finding Corona guilty of first-degree murder on all 25 counts charged.Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1973, "Corona Guilty --- Convicted of All 25 Murders --- Courtroom Stunned by Verdict", p. 1 The judge, Richard Patton, sentenced Corona to 25 terms of life imprisonment, to run consecutively, without the possibility of parole. Despite being sentenced to so many consecutive terms, the Department of Corrections said that Corona would be eligible for parole in seven years, citing Section 669 of the penal code, which mandates that when a crime is punished by life imprisonment, with or without the possibility of parole, then all other convictions shall be merged and run concurrently.Los Angeles Times, February 6, 1973, "Corona Held Eligible for Parole in 7 Years --- L.A. District Attorney's Office Calls 25 Consecutive Prison Term 'an Idle Exercise,'" p. 3
Second trial On May 18, 1978, the California Court of Appeal granted Juan Corona a new trial based on his appeal and petition for the writ of habeas corpus filed by his lawyers, Alan Exelrod and Michael Mendelson. The Appeals Court based its decision on two primary issues raised by appellate counsel: first, trial counsel did not do the requisite legal and factual investigations required; and second, trial counsel's obtaining publication rights as part of his fee created an impermissible conflict between trial counsel and Corona.
The second trial began on February 22, 1982, in Hayward, California.Los Angeles Times, February 22, 1982, "Corona Retrial Begins", p. A1 Corona's defense posited that the real murderer of the ranch workers was most likely his brother, Natividad Corona, a known homosexual who was accused of attacking Romero Raya with a machete-like weapon at his cafe in Marysville and, after losing the lawsuit Raya filed, had fled back to his native Mexico.Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1982, "Corona Kin May Be Killer, Lawyer Hints --- 'Maniacal Half-Brother Suggested as Murderer of 25 Laborers,'" p. B3 Natividad had died in 1973 in Guadalajara.Los Angeles Times, from Guadalajara (UPI), June 8, 1973, "Corona Sister Tells of Three Family Deaths", p. F8
This time, more than 50 defense witnesses were called to the stand by Terrence Hallinan. Corona was called in his own defense. He was asked only two questions through an interpreter, taking only two minutes. "Do you understand the state has accused you of killing 25 men?" "Yes," Corona answered, almost inaudibly. "Did you have anything to do with killing those men?" "No," Corona replied. Hallinan then turned Corona over to the prosecutor, Ronald Fahey, for cross-examination. Startled prosecution attorneys requested a brief recess to gather their wits and prepare some of the more than 630 exhibits for their cross.Los Angeles Times, from Hayward, California, July 21, 1982, "Corona Takes Stand, Denies 25 Slayings", p. OC22 Later, Fahey questioned Corona about the various vans and cars he used at the ranch where he worked and lived and where some weapons were found.