Man Charged With Killing 5 of His Children as Infants

Slayings took place between 1992 and 2001
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 27, 2020 7:00 PM CST
California Man Charged in Deaths of 5 Infants, All His
Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig stands next to a photo of Kato Krow Perez, born in 2001, one of five infants officials say was killed by their father.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A man about to be released from a California prison has been arrested after new DNA evidence showed he killed five of his own children, all no more than 6 months old, officials said Monday. The children were killed between 1992 and 2001, NBC reports. Paul Perez, 57, was arrested Friday at a state prison, where he was to be released Monday after serving time in unrelated cases on other offenses. The convicted sex offender now faces five counts of first-degree murder. "The investigation in this case uncovered a deeply disturbing, chilling case of infanticide," a prosecutor said. Saying they're still investigating the cold case, authorities would not disclose whether Perez has other children or give details of the slayings.

The investigation began after a fisherman found a 3-month-old's remains in an irrigation canal in 2007, per the AP. An autopsy showed that blunt force trauma killed the boy, and DNA was sent to the federal Justice Department. In October, a match was recorded. Yolo County investigators said they haven't found the remains of the other children. "The allegations we are discussing today are both senseless, evil, and heartbreaking," one law enforcement official said. (More child murder stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X