Juan Corona: Crime of the century

Nearly 40 years have passed since the day a Sutter County sheriff's deputy dug into what he thought would be an illegal garbage dump on a ranch off Larkin Road — and came up with a corpse. The discovery kicked off searches that would eventually uncover 24 more bodies. Yuba City resident and soon-to-be accused killer Juan Corona would be a household name for years. For the first two weeks, photographers, film crews and reporters were held at bay while meticulously kept rows of peach and prune orchards were transformed into messy and macabre crime scenes. Corona was described in news and magazine stories as a handsome, middle-class homeowner, father and church-goer. He was a licensed farm labor contractor and was known to hundreds of ranchers, braceros and business owners in the region. Those who prosecuted him believe the 25 bodies they linked to Corona are only the tip of the iceberg, and that many more lie beneath orchards in Colusa, Tehama and Butte counties. To this day, the identities of four recovered Corona victims, and the reasons behind his ritualistic killings, remain a mystery...read more