Sutter County Serial Killer, Juan Corona
May- 1971, the Yuba-Sutter area is shook when Live Oak Police are notified of suspicious activity near the Sullivan Ranch, by farmer Goro Kagehiro. This launched one of the biggest murder investigations in the history of the United States. Between the periods of May 20th and May 30th, on the Sullivan Ranch itself, a total of 23 bodies had been found. By June 4th, the death toll would be 25 bodies located in the area surrounding the ranch.
Amidst the chaos and confusion, a farm labor contractor by the name of Juan Vallejo Corona would be arrested and a ledger containing 34 names would be seized from his home by police.
One of those names dated February 24th 1971 is that of a José Romero Raya. That name means nothing to you now, but by the end of this segment it will.
Juan Vallejo Corona was born in 1934, in Autlán in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. In 1950 Corona came to the United States after illegally crossing the border. He began working throughout the Imperial and Sacramento Valleys as a farm worker. He developed a good reputation as being a hard and dependable worker, but he was also known for being a drinker. In 1953, at the age of 19, per his brother's request, Juan moved to the Yuba Sutter area. His older half-brother, Natividad Corona, lived in Marysville.
Christmas Eve 1955, one of the most widespread and destructive floods of any in the recorded history of Northern California hit the Yuba-Sutter area. More than 150 square miles were flooded when rivers exceeded levees causing the the levee to break on the Yuba City side, near Shanghai Bend. 38 people were killed and nearly 600 people were rescued from flood waters by helicopter.
This event had a peculiar effect on Corona. Traumatized by the event, he began to express strange thoughts he was having to the people around him. He was convinced that everyone had perished in the raging flood waters. His mind could not conceive that it was possible to have survived such a horrific disaster. This awoke a sort of spiritual awakening in Juan and spent most of his time reading the Bible. He became extremely erratic and notably paranoid. He was hearing voices and he told Natividad that they were living in "a land of ghosts". He was absolutely convinced that each survivor he came across, was merely an appartition of those struggling to survive.
By January, Natividad sent him back to Mexico realizing that the trauma of the floods had been too much for the young man. Perhaps he believed that returning home would do him good, but Juan returned nearly immediately, but this time legally with a green card as well as a new renewed sobriety. He had quit drinking.
It seemed that the event had such a profound effect on Juan that he decided he must straighten out and do things the right way.
By January 11th, Natividad remained unconvinced by Juan's new outlook and sobriety. On this date, he Natividad filed a petition in Yuba County Superior Court, asking that his brother be taken to a mental hospital for his own safety. He was committed to Dewitt State Hospital in Auburn California, where he was administered 23 electro-shock therapy treatments, without anesthesia.
Juan Corona was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. He was released 3 months later after being pronounced fully recovered.
His attorney Y. John Ibrahim, has fought for Corona's released claiming that "that the inmate is old and infirm and no longer a threat to society"
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| Some of the victims Some remain unidentified John Does. |
Amidst the chaos and confusion, a farm labor contractor by the name of Juan Vallejo Corona would be arrested and a ledger containing 34 names would be seized from his home by police.
One of those names dated February 24th 1971 is that of a José Romero Raya. That name means nothing to you now, but by the end of this segment it will.
"Starting this journey exploring the case of Juan Corona..... I find myself wasting entire days just reading and discovering new facets of this case that just blow me away. I wanna share what I find with everyone.
As someone who has had a life long fascination with this case, and also as someone who has been researching this story over the course of the last few months, the craziest thing I find about this story, is how many people that this has effected. Everywhere I go, at any mention of Juan Corona, someone has a story, an encounter, or a personal account of how these events effected them.
The endless amount of information, I find fascinating. Right now, though, I want to get you up to speed on the history of this case. At a later time, I would like to tell some of those stories and personal accounts, by people who lived them.
This may take some time to gather and present, but I hope you bare with us on this journey. With so much to say and share, it's impossible to cover it all with one small blog. Each detail deserves it's own attention.
- Anna & Amber"
Brief History
Juan Vallejo Corona was born in 1934, in Autlán in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. In 1950 Corona came to the United States after illegally crossing the border. He began working throughout the Imperial and Sacramento Valleys as a farm worker. He developed a good reputation as being a hard and dependable worker, but he was also known for being a drinker. In 1953, at the age of 19, per his brother's request, Juan moved to the Yuba Sutter area. His older half-brother, Natividad Corona, lived in Marysville.
Christmas Eve 1955, one of the most widespread and destructive floods of any in the recorded history of Northern California hit the Yuba-Sutter area. More than 150 square miles were flooded when rivers exceeded levees causing the the levee to break on the Yuba City side, near Shanghai Bend. 38 people were killed and nearly 600 people were rescued from flood waters by helicopter.
This event had a peculiar effect on Corona. Traumatized by the event, he began to express strange thoughts he was having to the people around him. He was convinced that everyone had perished in the raging flood waters. His mind could not conceive that it was possible to have survived such a horrific disaster. This awoke a sort of spiritual awakening in Juan and spent most of his time reading the Bible. He became extremely erratic and notably paranoid. He was hearing voices and he told Natividad that they were living in "a land of ghosts". He was absolutely convinced that each survivor he came across, was merely an appartition of those struggling to survive.
By January, Natividad sent him back to Mexico realizing that the trauma of the floods had been too much for the young man. Perhaps he believed that returning home would do him good, but Juan returned nearly immediately, but this time legally with a green card as well as a new renewed sobriety. He had quit drinking.
It seemed that the event had such a profound effect on Juan that he decided he must straighten out and do things the right way.
By January 11th, Natividad remained unconvinced by Juan's new outlook and sobriety. On this date, he Natividad filed a petition in Yuba County Superior Court, asking that his brother be taken to a mental hospital for his own safety. He was committed to Dewitt State Hospital in Auburn California, where he was administered 23 electro-shock therapy treatments, without anesthesia.
Juan Corona was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. He was released 3 months later after being pronounced fully recovered.
Throughout the 50's and 60's there are multiple records of Juan expressing to people that he was "sick" and thinking "bad things". One friend in particular, by the name of Ms. Lillard said she had met Juan at a snack bar where he told her, “[he was] sick in the head, call the doctor, call the police”.
Seems Juan was crying out for help, but no one took action to do so. Reading all I can about Juan, it seems that he had plenty of people who cared about him, but they felt helpless to do much. His brother seemed to be the only personal who was willing to go the extra mile to find Juan help, but the mental health system may have swept Juan's condition under the rug.
By 1958 Juan's relationship with Natividad had become very strained and the two grew apart. I can only image how stressed his brother must have become in Juan's condition with seemingly no outside support.
Natividad, a known gay man, owned the Guadalajara Cafe in Marysville, which is now today known as The Silver Dollar Saloon. Many of the patrons that frequented the cafe, were also known to be gay. Although previously labeled bi-sexual, Juan had grown very aggressive towards gays, and was said to put on a very strong macho front. His demeanor had changed over this period of time. If only people would have realized there was a time bomb ticking within him.
Little did anyone know, but a storm of fury that had brewed within Juan was about to be released. Perhaps the tendencies and desires for other males, that were unleashed into an already fragile mind, sent Corona over the edge.
On February 25th 1970, a 1 a.m. a man was discovered in the bathroom, by patrons at the cafe. The man had been molested, hacked and beaten about the face and head by what appeared to be a large knife or machete. The man was still alive, but the beating had left him with 3 skull fractures and permanent disfigurement, including his lips being cut from his face.
That young man's name was José Romero Raya.
Although he survived, Raya sued Natividad for the incident, even though no one was arrested for the crime. Raya won his case, but Natividad sold his business and fled to Mexico avoiding any restitution.
By the end of March 1970, Juan had been recommitted to Dewitt State Hospital but was later released, and this would be proven to be a grave and fatal mistake.
A year later, Juan Corona would be arrested (and later convicted) for the murder of 25 farm workers, that he recruited as vagrants, to work on the Sullivan Ranch. Evidence was more than damning and sufficient.
Those bodies were discovered to all be stabbed in the heart and with a large knife, a cross has been cut deeply into the back of their heads and neck with a machete, exposing the inside of their skulls. Their shirts had been pulled over their faces, and their pants had been removed.
Juan Corona became one of the most notorious serial killers to date. Due to the sexual nature of the crimes, he was labeled as a sexual sadist, and now lives in infamy, as "The Machete Murderer".
Corona received 25 consecutive life sentences, with the possibility of parole. He was sentenced during the brief time when capital punishment was outlawed in California.
As of 2016, Corona is housed at Corcoran State Prison, where prison officials say he is wheelchair bound and has been diagnosed with severe dementia.
Seems Juan was crying out for help, but no one took action to do so. Reading all I can about Juan, it seems that he had plenty of people who cared about him, but they felt helpless to do much. His brother seemed to be the only personal who was willing to go the extra mile to find Juan help, but the mental health system may have swept Juan's condition under the rug.
By 1958 Juan's relationship with Natividad had become very strained and the two grew apart. I can only image how stressed his brother must have become in Juan's condition with seemingly no outside support.
Natividad, a known gay man, owned the Guadalajara Cafe in Marysville, which is now today known as The Silver Dollar Saloon. Many of the patrons that frequented the cafe, were also known to be gay. Although previously labeled bi-sexual, Juan had grown very aggressive towards gays, and was said to put on a very strong macho front. His demeanor had changed over this period of time. If only people would have realized there was a time bomb ticking within him.
The Guadalajara Cafe, owned by Corona's brother.
Little did anyone know, but a storm of fury that had brewed within Juan was about to be released. Perhaps the tendencies and desires for other males, that were unleashed into an already fragile mind, sent Corona over the edge.
On February 25th 1970, a 1 a.m. a man was discovered in the bathroom, by patrons at the cafe. The man had been molested, hacked and beaten about the face and head by what appeared to be a large knife or machete. The man was still alive, but the beating had left him with 3 skull fractures and permanent disfigurement, including his lips being cut from his face.
That young man's name was José Romero Raya.
Although he survived, Raya sued Natividad for the incident, even though no one was arrested for the crime. Raya won his case, but Natividad sold his business and fled to Mexico avoiding any restitution.
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| Witness Jose Romero Raya - once had been hacked up and left for dead; Interpreter; Judge Richard Patton. |
A year later, Juan Corona would be arrested (and later convicted) for the murder of 25 farm workers, that he recruited as vagrants, to work on the Sullivan Ranch. Evidence was more than damning and sufficient.Those bodies were discovered to all be stabbed in the heart and with a large knife, a cross has been cut deeply into the back of their heads and neck with a machete, exposing the inside of their skulls. Their shirts had been pulled over their faces, and their pants had been removed.
Juan Corona became one of the most notorious serial killers to date. Due to the sexual nature of the crimes, he was labeled as a sexual sadist, and now lives in infamy, as "The Machete Murderer".
Corona received 25 consecutive life sentences, with the possibility of parole. He was sentenced during the brief time when capital punishment was outlawed in California.
As of 2016, Corona is housed at Corcoran State Prison, where prison officials say he is wheelchair bound and has been diagnosed with severe dementia.
The Silver Dollar Saloon
(in progress, to be continued....)
https://californiarevealed.org/islandora/object/cavpp%3A78320
ReplyDeleteHere is a link with old archives first video helped me find locations of bodies.....unaware I drove near those location daily for work for the last 7 years. Thank u for this awesome website . Thank u Anne Hill
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