"Corona's Brother Is Tied To Violence"
This article was published July 2nd 1982 in the New York Times.
"CORONA'S BROTHER IS TIED TO VIOLENCE
"CORONA'S BROTHER IS TIED TO VIOLENCE
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| Sigurd E. Beierman (Previously an Unknown, identified as of 2/14/18, Per the NY Times) |
HAYWARD, Calif., July 1— A defense witness said today that he saw Juan V. Corona's half-brother place a body in a panel truck after a scuffle involving a knife.
Judge Richard E. Patton of Colusa County Superior Court promptly ruled that the jury could hear the testimony implicating the halfbrother, Natividad Corona, as responsible for the killing of 25 farm workers for which Juan Corona, a farm labor contractor, was convicted in 1973.
With the jury absent, by arrangement with the judge, the defense witness, Arie K. Jones, 56 years old, told the court that in 1970 and 1971 he worked for Natividad Corona at the Guadalajara Cafe in Yuba City. He said that in March or April of 1971 he saw a sexual incident between Mr. Corona and a man he knew as ''Pete.'' Mr. Jones then identified a photograph of Sigurd Biereman, one of the 25 victims in the case, as the orchard worker called ''Pete.''
He said he subsequently heard scuffling in the storage room of the cafe and ''saw a knife flashing'' in the hands of Natividad Corona. Mr. Jones said he drove off in his car, but stopped nearby to watch. He said two ''Spanish men'' arrived at the cafe and later he ''saw them carry a body out and put it in a green or blue panel,'' adding, ''Natividad brought the body out.'' He said he never saw ''Pete'' again. Defense Sees 'Major Victory'
Mr. Jones is expected to repeat his story Friday, with the jury present. A defense lawyer, Terrence Hallinan, characterized Judge Patton's ruling as a ''major victory'' for the defense of Juan Corona, who has protested his innocence since he was arrested in 1971.
The defense has sought to show that Natividad Corona killed the victims in fits of rage caused by ''a morbid sexuality'' and insanity resulting from the effects of tertiary syphilis. He is believed to have died in Mexico, but the defense says it doubts the authenticity of his Mexican death certificate.
Juan Corona was convicted of the mass murders of the farm workers, whose bodies, hacked and stabbed, were found in shallow graves in orchards in the Yuba City area. His conviction was overturned by the California Court of Appeal in 1978 on the basis of inadequate legal representation.
Judge Patton ruled previously that the defense would not be allowed to present its evidence against Natividad Corona because the lawyers had failed to establish any direct connection between him and the killings. But he agreed to hear Mr. Jones's testimony today without a jury on hand, before issuing a final ruling on the matter.
The prosecutor, Robert Fahey, objected that Mr. Jones had not actually seen a killing and had not identified the body as Mr. Biereman's.
Judge Patton said Mr. Jones's testimony might show that Natividad Corona had been responsible for Mr. Biereman's death and Juan Corona was not at the scene"
Source -
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/02/us/corona-s-brother-is-tied-to-violence.html
Judge Richard E. Patton of Colusa County Superior Court promptly ruled that the jury could hear the testimony implicating the halfbrother, Natividad Corona, as responsible for the killing of 25 farm workers for which Juan Corona, a farm labor contractor, was convicted in 1973.
With the jury absent, by arrangement with the judge, the defense witness, Arie K. Jones, 56 years old, told the court that in 1970 and 1971 he worked for Natividad Corona at the Guadalajara Cafe in Yuba City. He said that in March or April of 1971 he saw a sexual incident between Mr. Corona and a man he knew as ''Pete.'' Mr. Jones then identified a photograph of Sigurd Biereman, one of the 25 victims in the case, as the orchard worker called ''Pete.''
He said he subsequently heard scuffling in the storage room of the cafe and ''saw a knife flashing'' in the hands of Natividad Corona. Mr. Jones said he drove off in his car, but stopped nearby to watch. He said two ''Spanish men'' arrived at the cafe and later he ''saw them carry a body out and put it in a green or blue panel,'' adding, ''Natividad brought the body out.'' He said he never saw ''Pete'' again. Defense Sees 'Major Victory'
Mr. Jones is expected to repeat his story Friday, with the jury present. A defense lawyer, Terrence Hallinan, characterized Judge Patton's ruling as a ''major victory'' for the defense of Juan Corona, who has protested his innocence since he was arrested in 1971.
The defense has sought to show that Natividad Corona killed the victims in fits of rage caused by ''a morbid sexuality'' and insanity resulting from the effects of tertiary syphilis. He is believed to have died in Mexico, but the defense says it doubts the authenticity of his Mexican death certificate.
Juan Corona was convicted of the mass murders of the farm workers, whose bodies, hacked and stabbed, were found in shallow graves in orchards in the Yuba City area. His conviction was overturned by the California Court of Appeal in 1978 on the basis of inadequate legal representation.
Judge Patton ruled previously that the defense would not be allowed to present its evidence against Natividad Corona because the lawyers had failed to establish any direct connection between him and the killings. But he agreed to hear Mr. Jones's testimony today without a jury on hand, before issuing a final ruling on the matter.
The prosecutor, Robert Fahey, objected that Mr. Jones had not actually seen a killing and had not identified the body as Mr. Biereman's.
Judge Patton said Mr. Jones's testimony might show that Natividad Corona had been responsible for Mr. Biereman's death and Juan Corona was not at the scene"
Source -
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/02/us/corona-s-brother-is-tied-to-violence.html
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