Luis Aguilar Perez

Case details

Luis Aguilar Perez was convicted of sexually assaulting and attempting to murder a 14-year-old girl in San Francisco in 1999, according to court documents. He was later sentenced for killings connected to two women in Santa Clara County and was described by prosecutors as a serial killer.

Status and sentencing outcome

Perez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on November 29, 2006.

Santa Clara Co. Serial Killer Gets Life In Prison November 30, 2006 records that Perez pleaded guilty last month and waived his right to a jury trial. The death penalty was not imposed because Perez was described as mentally retarded. Judge Rodney J. Stafford sentenced Perez on Wednesday to two consecutive life sentences for killing Florence Ruth Berrospe, 50, in 1984 and Nestora McCune, 61, in 1989.

Timeline

• October 18, 2005 — San Jose police announced the arrest of an alleged serial killer in connection with at least two murders in San Jose from the 1980s; Luis Perez, 40, was arrested at Mule Creek State Prison for the 1989 murder of Nestora McCune, 61, and the 1984 Sunnyvale murder of Florence Ruth Berrospe, 50.
• October 19, 2005 — Police said DNA evidence linked 40-year-old San Francisco resident Luis Perez to the 1984 murder of Florence Ruth Berrospe; police also stated he was charged with the murder of Nestora and they believed he was responsible for the 1996 murder of a San Francisco prostitute.
• October 20, 2005 — San Jose police and prosecutors described Perez as preying on “discarded women” and stated they expected the case to expand.
• November 29, 2006 — Perez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• November 30, 2006 — The sentencing details were described as including two consecutive life sentences; Perez pleaded guilty and waived a jury trial, and Judge Rodney J. Stafford imposed the sentences.

Background

Prosecutors described Perez as preyed on “discarded women,” troubled people that society and sometimes their families forgot. San Jose police and prosecutors said he was the first suspected serial killer identified in Santa Clara County, and authorities expected the case to expand from the number of victims identified so far.

Karyn Sinunu, Santa Clara County Chief Assistant District Attorney, said authorities believed Perez may have committed additional murders in the Bay Area between 1983 and 1999 when he began his prison sentence, and she said, "We think there may be more victims but it would be irresponsible of me to estimate the number,'' Sinunu said.

San Jose police detective Sgt. Rob Millard said, " It has the potential to be one of the largest cases we've ever had,'' and later added, "He's the first serial killer from here that we know of.''

Perez’s victims were described by prosecutors as “discarded women,” and Karyn Sinunu said: "There might be others people know about, women who had a mental illness or alcohol problems, just forgotten by society.''

The offence

1984 Sunnyvale murder of Florence Ruth Berrospe

Police said DNA evidence linked Luis Perez to the 1984 murder of Florence Ruth Berrospe. She was strangled, and her body was found in Sunnyvale in a ditch near Highway 237.

Sunnyvale Public Safety Lt. Marty Dale said: " Our fire rigs go out there and confirm it was a dead body in a decayed state,'' Dale said. Dale also said: "This woman was not identified initially. Her remains were not identified until December 1989 when a call came in from her son or son-in-law saying `that person might be my Mom' '' after seeing a sketch of the woman on television.

Florence Ruth Berrospe carried no ID but was wearing a necklace with a charm that read "#1 Grandma.'' The case summary also stated that both women were strangled and sexually assaulted.

1989 San Jose murder of Nestora McCune

Police said Nestora McCune’s body was discovered on the side of Highway 101 in San Jose in June of 1989 and was found beneath a pile of dried eucalyptus leaves near the Brokaw Road on-ramp to Highway 101.

The case summary stated that McCune, 61, was strangled and sexually assaulted.

1996 San Francisco prostitute murder (linked, identity not released)

Police believed Perez was responsible for the 1996 murder of a San Francisco prostitute, but the identity was not released. Investigators also stated he was linked to the killing of a San Francisco woman, and they said they had not released her identity.

Investigation

Karyn Sinunu was identified as speaking for the Santa Clara County district attorney office.

Police described DNA evidence as having linked Perez to at least two murders. The detectives used biological evidence and obtained a hit in a DNA database called CODIS, which includes DNA from both crime scenes and suspects. The case narrative stated that Rob Millard took the cold case off the shelf and got a DNA hit.

Sinunu said, "As a result, our ace detectives are able to work these old cases. Rob Millard took this one off the shelf. It had biological evidence and he got a hit'' in a DNA database called CODIS that includes DNA from both crime scenes and suspects.

The narrative stated that after getting a DNA hit on the evidence in San Jose, detectives sent out a teletype about the cases to police departments around the country "in hopes of getting other law enforcement to look at their cold cases,'' Millard said.

Millard said: " One of the inquiries we got helped solve a Hayward case. The investigator said, `It's not him, but by re-investigating the case, we got a hit.' That's kind of cool,'' Millard said.

Santa Clara County authorities said files for the two San Jose cases were sealed until December to protect the ongoing investigation.

Millard said the case "has kind of ballooned into more than we expected,'' and Sinunu said it had ballooned more than expected as well.

Sinunu also said, "We know that they are working a case up there, but there are other things locally that we are looking at. We are looking outside the state also."

The case narrative also stated that police received several calls from other police departments, including from New York, that had similar cases, although Perez had not been linked to any murders outside the Bay Area so far.

Arrest and custody

Perez was arrested at Mule Creek State Prison. The narrative stated that he was 40 at the time of arrest.

The case narrative stated that Perez had been serving time for an unrelated case at the Mule Creek State Prison in Sacramento. It also stated he was currently being held at the Santa Clara County jail.

The narrative stated that Perez lived in both San Jose and San Francisco and worked as a handyman. Rob Millard said, "He was a San Jose resident, but he was also a San Francisco resident.'' The narrative also stated that Perez lived in San Jose from 1983 to 1989 and that he "was a squatter,'' Millard said. The narrative added that he would hang out with different people and stay with them.

The narrative stated that police also believed Perez traveled to New York at one point.

Trial

Perez pleaded guilty last month and waived his right to a jury trial.

In the courtroom, Perez expressed remorse and told family members a "monster" lurked within him and caused him to make a "stupid mistake." Perez also made statements to police indicating that he may have killed as many as 30 women, but police had not been able to substantiate his claims, according to Deputy District Attorney Matthew Braker.

Appeals

No appeal information was included.

Outcome

Perez was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for killing Florence Ruth Berrospe, 50, in 1984 and Nestora McCune, 61, in 1989.

Perez was described as being spared from the death penalty because he was mentally retarded.

Perez was to travel to San Francisco, where he was accused of killing a third woman.

Aftermath and public assistance

San Jose police identified Sgts. Rob Millard and Tim Porter and gave a contact number for anyone with information about the case: (408) 277-5283. It also stated that those wishing to remain anonymous could call Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP.

Karyn Sinunu said, " Everyone has someone they know about or some case they remember in the newspaper that touched them,'' and she added: "Has that been taken care of? Has that case been solved? If someone knows of a case that might be linked, we'll take a look at it. We're doing that right now.''