Juan Corona: The Machete Murderer - Part One

Notes from me before we get into the case: I have been researching this case already for a few weeks. I had heard of it, but never knew much about it so I didn't realize it would be as big as it was. It's understandable since the discovery of his victims made him the most prolific serial killer up until that point. The media storm, the number of victims, and the prolonged court battles really deserved a deep dive. That is why this will be more than one part.

Part Two will be solely about the victims: What they were like, if they had any family, how they were found, their wounds, if any evidence connecting Juan to them was found, etc. They deserve their own space, away from the man who murdered them.

Part Three will contain information about both trials, and anything having to do with court, or any other disclosures that came out during the trial. I will also note if there is any other information I have found - regarding the first two parts - that I feel is important to note before we close out the case.

I apologize that I didn't put part one out last week, and that it's late this week, but the sheer amount of information and wanting to include as much of it as possible is why! I am one of those people who will feel like I didn't do a case justice if I don't investigate it to the best of my abilities, so I had to do it right.

I also want to note that there may be other information you have heard or read about this case (or any other I post in the future). I choose to follow the rule that if I can't find more than one documented source, or it's a piece of information that doesn't come from around the time that a case happens, I am less likely to include it. I prefer to be accurate, but not misleading if that makes sense. I may post about some things if they seem important, but may note that it was only listed by a small amount of sources, or that it was speculation, etc. Who knows? My sources could also cause me to have wrong information, but it's less likely to be wrong if it's reported by multiple sources, or reported at the time, when things are fresh.

Now onto the case itself!!

The gruesome murders committed by Juan Corona, aka "The Machete Murderer" as he was dubbed by the media, were a strange juxtaposition to the peaceful orchards in which the bodies were found. In an idyllic farming community near Yuba City and Marysville, California, at least 25 men were deceived, victimized, brutalized, and buried amongst the orchards along the Feather River in Sutter County. Whether or not Juan actually committed said crimes has been an ongoing question since his conviction. There are still many people who believe him to be innocent, including his family.

When the bodies were found, Corona became known as the most prolific serial killer at the time, and is still known as California's most prolific. Dean Corll would take the overall title a short while later, while Corona was still pleading his innocence, in 1973. We'll talk about him later.

We all know the 1960's and 1970's were a time of change and upheaval, especially in the United States. The '70's also began what is known as "The Golden Age of Serial Killers". During these two decades, we were dealing with and still reeling over these event and changes: the Vietnam war, protests against it, the assassination of the Kennedy's, and the Manson murders, just to name a few. The country would be rocked by yet another one as the first of Corona's victims were discovered in May of 1971.

Juan Vallejo Corona was born February 7, 1934. There has been a discrepancy about where he was born as most articles, books, and information online state that he was born in Autlan, Jalisco, Mexico. However, a few sources, as well as a blog from genealogist, Lisa Medina, whose family has a connection to the Corona family, list his birthplace as Ayutla, Jalisco, Mexico. His parents were listed as Sebastian Corona and Candida Vallejo. Juan was one of 10 children born to his mother and father. He also had three half siblings from his father's first marriage.

I haven't been able to find a whole lot on the rest of his early life, but there are many sources that state Juan first came to the US illegally when he was just 15 or 16, which would have been around 1949-1950, residing in the Sacramento area. It is also noted that he essentially followed some of his siblings to the area, including his older half-brother, Natividad. Natividad plays a crucial role in Juan's story and his "downfall", so to speak. Many suspect that he may have actually been the one to have committed these brutal crimes, and not Juan. The only other thing I found to note was that he was married before, in 1953, to Gabriella E Hermosillo, but their marriage lasted only three months before they were divorced. I'm curious as to why it went south so quickly??

On Christmas Eve, 1955, Yuba City, and other nearby towns flooded when the Feather River overflowed, drowning 37 people, and causing 8 others to die later due to the flood. Multiple attempts had been made to strengthen the levees but to no avail. Close to 3,000 others were injured or became ill as a result as well. This event became known as The Christmas Flood of 1955. Juan had just begun living in the area, and this event affected him greatly.

Shortly after the flood, in January of 1956, Natividad petitioned the courts to have Juan institutionalized. He said that Juan was always reading the Bible, writing, and believed everyone in the town had actually perished during the flood; he believed he was living in a city full of ghosts. In one source, it is noted that this idea had come to him in a vision. Some sources say the flood may have been the event that made his mental illness fully present itself.

This history of mental illness came to light after his arrest, when the case file was found at the county courthouse. The documents in these files also showed that an informant had said Juan "was known to have fits of temper so bad the family had to take ropes and tie him down until he became calm again." He was diagnosed with "schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type" by two different medical examiners in response to Natividad's petition. They also said he seemed confused and disoriented, suffered from hallucinations, and that he needed "supervision, care, and restraint" or he may be a danger to himself and others. The judge had him committed to the DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California. During his time in the institution, he reportedly received 23 electroshock therapy treatments. He was released just 3 months later, on April 18, 1956, as "cured", and was deported back to Mexico. Later that year, Juan obtained a green card, and returned to California legally.

During his time in the U.S., he and his brothers were working the orchards in the areas near where they lived, just as many Mexicans that had come to the U.S. - legally and illegally - were. There had been a shortage of workers because of World War II, so they had come to fill the gaps, make money, and make better lives for themselves and their families. Over time, Juan and his brothers worked their way up from being farmhands; Juan, Felix, and Pedro became labor contractors that brought other workers, usually migrants, in to work on the farms, and Natividad ended up buying and running a bar, which would become yet another cog in this strange machine of a case; we'll get to that in a few minutes.

In 1959, Juan married his second wife, Gloria Moreno, who he would go on to have four daughters with. They moved from their home in Live Oak, to a home on Richland Road, in Yuba City, in November of 1968. The home was brand new, having just been built, and then immediately sold to them. Juan had done well for himself since coming to the U.S.. He had been able to put $5,000 down for the house and had been able to get a mortgage. He also owned multiple vehicles including; a yellow, 1971 Chevrolet van; a 1970 Chevrolet Impala; and an old school bus he kept at the J.L. Sullivan Ranch, where he worked the most.

--- TRIGGER WARNING: Some gory details in the following paragraph.

Juan's potentially violent tendencies may have first come into the light on February 25, 1970, just a little over a year before the first of his victims was found. That night, in Natividad's "Guadalajara Cafe", now the Silver Dollar Saloon, in Marysville, a man was found badly beaten and hacked in the men's restroom. It was an attack that would leave Jose Romero Raya lucky to be alive, but permanently disfigured. Doctors had to operate on him for six hours following the brutal beating. His lips had been cut off, and one of the wounds on his head was so deep, his brain had been leaking from it.

Raya had been unable to identify his attackers since he had been attacked from behind, with what he thought was some sort of heavy blade. Because of this, no direct charges were ever brought against Juan or Natividad; however, Raya later filed a civil suit against Natividad, since it was his bar. It was apparently known that Natividad was gay, and the bar was possibly a hot spot for the gay community at the time. Raya stated during the civil suit that he knew Natividad was a homosexual and he had tried to make advances towards him.

One of the investigators of the attack, officer Ollie Coleman of the Marysville Police Department, reported (referring to Natividad's homosexuality): "If someone talking to Juan Corona even brought up this subject, directed at his brother or not, Juan Corona would go into one of his fits of temper." When they were first investigating the case, Juan had denied being there and told police he had been in Mexico visiting his mother, but witnesses and Natividad said otherwise. He later admitted he lied and had been there that night.

The presiding judge over the suit, Supreme Court Judge Richard A. Schoenig, felt that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that Natividad had been the assailant. Raya was awarded $250,000 dollars - meant to be paid to him by Natividad - at the conclusion of the civil suit, but never received a penny. Before judgement, Natividad apparently signed all of his property over to relatives, including the bar, and disappeared. It is believed he went back to Mexico.

Whether it was Natividad or Juan that attacked Raya that night may never be known for sure. Only they know which one of them actually did it, but to this day, we are not in on that secret.

Due to the increase in use of machinery on the farms, work was slowing down for Corona and his migrant workers. It had also been raining enough for the orchard owners along the river to be worried about the possibility of a flooding again. It had cut the harvest season of 1970 short, continued through the winter and into the spring, leaving even less work. The foreman at the J.L. Sullivan Ranch had also let Juan know that they would need 40-45 less workers for the upcoming season as they had bought a mechanical peach picker. Not only was Juan paid as a contractor, he also received 10-15% of the workers' earnings, as the one who brought them in. The slow work and less earnings was a big hit for him financially.

When he began to struggle and feel the strain of this, he applied for aid from the Sutter County Welfare Department, in March of 1971, just two months before his first victim was found. They determined that he had more than the $600 worth of personal property that was allowed, and rejected his application. When they did so, he reportedly "flew into a rage", calling the investigator every name in the book. He also made it clear that he felt they were "picking on him" and were discriminatory against Mexicans. Some people believe this may the event that set him off, though it seems unlikely.

This leads us to the discovery of the first victim, on May 20, 1971. The owner of one of the peach orchards Juan contracted for, Goro Kagehiro, had noticed a hole had recently been dug while on his rounds the day before. He wasn't sure why it had been dug and found it a bit strange. He decided to take another look later that night and noticed it had been filled in. This obviously caused some concern, but Kagehiro thought it was just someone potentially dumping and burying trash on his property. He notified the police just in case and they arrived the next morning to investigate. From all accounts, it seems a body was the last thing they expected to find, but they indeed found just that.

Stay tuned for Part Two!!

Sources:

*Branning, Don. "Orchards' Dreadful Toll Still Incomplete." Newspapers, The San Francisco Examiner, 30 May 1971. www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-corona/137936933. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.

*Corona v. Superior Court. Justia Law. Accessed 4 Jan. 2024.

*Ellsworth, Will. "23 Bodies - Innocent Says Juan." Newspapers, The San Francisco Examiner, 30 May 1971. www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-corona/137937030. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.

*Fritsch, Jane. Serial Killers of the '70s: Stories Behind a Notorious Decade of Death. Union Square & Co. 2020.

*Hollis, Robert. "Murder: The Talk of Yuba City." Newspapers, The San Francisco Examiner, 30 May 1971. www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-corona/137937030. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.

*Lardner, George. "Suspect Was Diagnosed as 'Dangerous'." Newspapers, The Charlotte Observer, 30 May 1971. www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-corona/137937704. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.

*Medina, Lisa. "Cousin Corona." Lisa Medina Genealogist & Family Historian. Weebly. 20 May 2016. www.medinagenie.com/medina-genie-blog. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

*People v. Corona. Casetext. Accessed 5 Jan .2024.

*Ramsland, Katherine. Juan Corona, a Homophobic Serial Killer’s Story, Crime Library. www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/notorious/juan_corona/index.html. Accessed 7 Jan. 2024.

*Stiles, William W. “How a Community Met a Disaster: Yuba City Flood, December 1955.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 309, 1957, pp. 160–69. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1031945. Accessed 10 Jan. 2024.

*The New York Times News Service. "For Yuba City Suspect, Prosperity Ended Unsuccessful Welfare Plea." Newspapers, The Brattleboro Reformer, 17 Jun. 1971. www.newspapers.com/article/the-brattleboro-reformer-corona/137936863. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.

*Thompson, Marty. "Nobody Would Miss These People... They're Dropouts of Society." Newspapers, The Charlotte Observer, 30 May 1971. www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-corona/137937704. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.

*United Press International. "His Mother Says 'It's Not Possible'." Newspapers, The Charlotte Observer, 30 May 1971. www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-corona/137937704. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.