Verdict caps a cold-case probe that began with a 2007 discovery of an infant’s remains in a cooler near Woodland.
WOODLAND, Calif. — A Yolo County jury on Tuesday convicted Paul Allen Perez, 63, of murdering five of his infant children in killings that spanned the 1990s and early 2000s across Central and Northern California, concluding a yearslong cold-case investigation anchored by DNA evidence and a break in 2019 that identified Perez as the babies’ biological father.
The verdict matters because it closes one of the region’s most haunting cases, one that baffled detectives for years after a fisherman found an infant’s body in 2007 submerged inside a weighted cooler in Conway Slough east of Woodland. Prosecutors said familial DNA ultimately linked that child to Perez and revealed four more infants believed to have been killed between 1992 and 2001. Jurors found Perez guilty of multiple counts of murder and one count of assault on a child under eight causing death, as well as a multiple-murder enhancement. He now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole at a sentencing set for April 6 in Yolo County Superior Court.
Investigators said the case began publicly on March 29, 2007, when fishermen discovered the cooler in the slough. Evidence preserved from the infant’s remains sat unsolved for years as detectives followed dead ends. In 2019, advances in DNA analysis led to a match that identified Perez as the boy’s father and pointed to additional siblings born in different counties. Deputies arrested Perez in January 2020 just before his scheduled release from prison on an unrelated case. “These crimes involved pure evil,” District Attorney Jeff Reisig said after the verdict. “The defendant should die in prison.” Authorities said all five victims were younger than six months at the time of their deaths.
Prosecutors identified the infants as Kato Allen Perez, born in 1992 in Merced; Mika Alena Perez, born in 1995 in Merced; Nikko Lee Perez, born in 1996 in Fresno; another infant also named Nikko Lee Perez, born in 1997 in Fresno; and Kato Krow Perez, born in 2001 in Fresno. The child found in 2007 was identified as the 1996 infant, whose remains were recovered from the slough east of Woodland. Some remains have never been found, officials said, but jurors heard testimony that DNA, vital records and investigative findings established the deaths. Witnesses described Perez as transient across Central California during the decade in question. In an earlier interview, Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez called the case among the most disturbing he had seen in four decades in law enforcement.
Records and prior reports show the investigation stretched across multiple jurisdictions, including Merced, Fresno and Yolo counties, with detectives reconstructing births, addresses and movements from the early 1990s through 2001. Cold-case teams leaned on preserved evidence from the slough recovery, which included the cooler and materials used to weigh it down, along with forensic lab work that enabled genealogical leads years later. The trial focused on tying the identified father to each victim through a combination of DNA results, birth records and investigative summaries. Prosecutors said a motive remains unknown. The defense did not call many witnesses, and statements during trial offered few details about Perez’s life during the years the killings occurred.
The legal phase now shifts to sentencing. With jurors finding the multiple-murder enhancement true, Perez faces life without the possibility of parole. The court scheduled sentencing for April 6. Prosecutors said they will confer with agencies in Fresno and Merced regarding open questions about burial locations and any remaining investigative tasks related to unrecovered remains. Authorities also plan to maintain the cold-case tips line for any information that could help locate the missing infants’ remains. Officials said no further arrests are expected based on the current case file.
Outside the courthouse, a small group of locals watched as deputies escorted Perez back into custody. Several people expressed relief that a case that shadowed the county for years finally reached a verdict. “It’s a heavy day, but at least there is an answer,” said one longtime Woodland resident. A victim advocate who attended the proceedings said the jury’s decision acknowledges lives that were little more than names in thin files for decades. “Those babies were counted today,” the advocate said.
As of Wednesday morning, Perez remained jailed awaiting sentencing. Court officials said the next milestone is a formal judgment and possible victim statements at the April 6 hearing.
Author note: Last updated January 7, 2026.