Cold-Case Arrest Made In Baby’s 2007 Death, Four Other Infant Homicides

0
1314

CALIFORNIA — An arrest has been made in connection with a 2007 cold case involving the
death of an infant, whose body was located in Yolo County, and the suspected homicides of four additional infants under the age of six months.

This morning Sheriff Tom Lopez stated, “While I am proud of the efforts of
my investigators and coroner’s office, this is not a day that will bring joy to any one of us. In my 40 years in law enforcement, I cannot think of a case more disturbing than this one. There can be no victim more vulnerable and innocent than an infant, and unfortunately this case involves five.”

On March 29, 2007, a deceased infant was discovered by a fisherman in a
waterway just east of the City of Woodland. The baby was found in a sealed
container and weighed down with heavy objects. Until recently, no information was discovered to further an investigation.

In October of 2019, the infant was identified as Nikko Lee Perez by DNA
comparison. It is now known that the baby boy was born on November 8,
1996, in Fresno, California. The identification was the result of work by the California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory in Richmond and the Yolo County Coroner’s Office.

With this new information, investigators learned that Nikko had siblings.
One sibling, Kato Allen Perez, was born in Merced, Ca in 1992 and is known to be deceased.

Three other siblings are now also believed to be deceased. The additional
victims in this case are:

Mika Alena Perez, born in Merced, Ca in 1995
Nikko Lee Perez, born in Fresno, Ca in 1997
Kato Krow Perez, born in Fresno, Ca in 2001

The remains of these three victims have not been located.

The father of all five children, Paul Perez, 57, of Delano, has been placed under arrest for the individual murders of each.

Investigators with the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and Yolo County District Attorney’s Office have worked on this case with additional assistance from many other law enforcement agencies including the Woodland Police Department, West Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, CDCR, the California Department of Public Health, and FBI.

“The allegations announced today are heartbreaking. There is absolutely no
place in our society for horrendous crimes against children,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “At the California Department of Justice, we will do everything in our power to track down criminals who think they have evaded the grip of justice. We are thankful for the hard work of our DNA team and our partners at the Yolo County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices who are fighting every day to keep our communities safe.”

Facebook Comments