Warren Jerome Kelley, a 62-year-old Caucasian male, was among the victims of Juan Vallejo Corona, a labor contractor turned serial killer who targeted migrant farm workers in California during the early months of 1971. Kelley's body was discovered in a peach orchard near Yuba City, California, in May 1971.
The sequence of events leading to the discovery of these crimes began on May 19, 1971, when a peach farmer noticed a freshly dug hole in one of his orchards. Upon investigation, authorities uncovered the body of a man who had been brutally murdered. This initial discovery prompted a thorough search of the surrounding area, leading to the unearthing of 25 bodies in total, all buried in shallow graves across multiple locations.
The victims, including Kelley, were transient laborers hired for farm work. They were found with multiple stab wounds and deep slashes, indicative of attacks with a machete or similar weapon. Some victims also showed evidence of being beaten. Corona, who was responsible for recruiting these workers, was linked to the murders through employment records and eyewitness testimonies.
Juan Vallejo Corona was arrested on May 26, 1971, and charged with 25 counts of first-degree murder. His trial began in September 1972 and concluded with a conviction in January 1973, resulting in 25 life sentences. An appellate court overturned this conviction in 1978 due to inadequate legal representation, leading to a retrial in 1982, where he was again found guilty on all counts. Corona served his sentences at Corcoran State Prison in California until his death from natural causes on March 4, 2019, at the age of 85.
