DNA, collaboration between law enforcement and prosecution by the Yolo District Attorney's office praised by CA AG Bonta for conviction of man in a cold case about death of five infants which were his own children

(Booking photo: Yolo County Sheriff's Office)

California Attorney General Rob Bonta just issued the following statement just now about the conviction of Paul Allen Perez who was convicted by a jury this week for the deaths of five infants that occurred 1992 and 2001. These were Perez' own children. 

DNA, collaboration between law enforcement and prosecution by the Yolo District Attorney's office were praised by AG Bonta.

I have added the press release from the Yolo County District Attorney's Office issued January 6, 2026.

CA AG statement:

California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement on the conviction of Paul Allen Perez this week for multiple counts of murder and one count of assault on a child under eight with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death by a jury in Yolo County. The prosecution was handled by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. The California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services (BFS) provided assistance to the investigating agencies.

“With this conviction, justice was served for these horrific crimes,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This case is a powerful example of how innovative scientific techniques provide a voice for victims of crime. I am incredibly proud of the work our Bureau of Forensic Services put into this case, which provided a pathway to justice. I’m also grateful to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office and all of our law enforcement partners for their dedication to finding justice for these children.”

The conviction resolves a cold case that revolved around the murders of five infants between 1992 and 2001. In 2007, an infant’s remains were found in the Conway Slough east of Woodland. Though DNA from the remains was routinely searched to identify them, it wasn’t until 2017 that Paul Allen Perez was determined to be the infant’s biological father when BFS’s Missing Persons DNA Program and Cal-DNA Data Bank collaborated to identify a DNA kinship link. Following this lead, local investigators were able to build a case against Perez.

The California Department of Justice Missing Persons DNA Program (MPDP), established in 2001, is responsible for providing DNA testing to address all cases of missing persons and unidentified human remains throughout the state. To this end, the MPDP works with coroners, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies from all of California’s 58 counties to ensure that all cases have been submitted for DNA testing. The MPDP compares DNA from unidentified persons and unidentified human remains with DNA from personal articles belonging to missing persons and DNA from relatives of missing persons with the sole purpose of contributing to the effort of identifying missing persons and bringing closure to their families.

Yolo  County District Attorney:

Today, a Yolo County Jury convicted 63-year-old Paul Allen Perez, a transient throughout Central California, of multiple counts of Murder; and one count of Assault on a Child Under Eight with Force Likely to Produce Great Bodily Injury Resulting in Death. A Case Enhancement for Multiple Murders was also found to be True.

This conviction stems from murders that occurred between 1992 and 2001, throughout Central and Northern California. The case broke after one of the infant’s remains were found weighted down and submerged in a cooler in the Conway Slough east of Woodland. Familial DNA of that infant determined that Paul Allen Perez was the biological father. In reaction to the verdict, DA Jeff Reisig stated, “These crimes involved pure evil. The defendant should die in prison. May the souls of his murdered children rest in peace.”

Honorable Judge Wolk presided over the proceedings. Perez faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, and he will be sentenced on April 6, 2026, at 1:30pm in Dept.