In the quiet agricultural community of Madera, California, the spring of 1995 was shattered by a brutal crime that would remain a painful mystery for nearly a decade. On the morning of April 23, a farmworker tending to an orchard just south of the city made a devastating discovery. There, amidst the rows of trees, lay the body of 42-year-old Julie Ann Woodley, a mother of two who was a native of Madera.
The discovery marked the beginning of a years-long investigation into a series of violent acts that terrorized the women of this small Central Valley city.
Julie, who also went by her maiden name, McDonald, was last seen alive on the south side of Madera about eight hours before her body was found. At the time of her death, she was navigating difficult circumstances, and her two children were not living with her. The life she had been living was cut short with shocking violence; an autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted and shot. Her death was the first in a string of attacks that left the community on edge, as investigators initially had no leads to connect the seemingly random act of violence to a suspect.
For years, Julie's case grew cold, a heartbreaking example of justice delayed. The fear in Madera County would intensify as more women fell victim to a predator hiding in plain sight. In November 1995, Evelyn Estrada was abducted and viciously attacked, but she bravely fought back and survived. Nearly three years later, in July 1998, 30-year-old Sharlene Fowler was found strangled in another orchard. That November, the body of 22-year-old Tamara Hernandez, a young mother visiting family from Eureka, was discovered near a vineyard. The cases remained officially unconnected, leaving families to grieve without answers and a community to wonder if the killer would ever be caught.
The breakthrough came unexpectedly, years after the crimes were committed. In 1999, a man named Jose Manuel Guerrero was arrested for drunk driving and sentenced to prison. During his incarceration, Guerrero was reportedly overheard bragging about committing multiple murders. Nearing his scheduled release in 2004, he was required to submit a DNA sample to the state's crime lab. This routine procedure would finally unravel the mystery that had haunted Madera for so long. In October 2004, the DNA sample conclusively linked Guerrero to the murder of Tamara Hernandez.
Following this crucial match, investigators were able to connect Guerrero to the other crimes. His DNA was subsequently matched to evidence from the murders of Julie Ann Woodley and Sharlene Fowler, as well as the attempted murder of Evelyn Estrada. What had once been a series of baffling, separate cases was now revealed to be the work of a single, brutal serial killer. Jose Guerrero, who was just 22 when he killed Julie, was arrested in his jail cell and charged with three counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and one count of attempted murder.
In April 2009, Jose Manuel Guerrero's trial began, becoming the most high-profile case in Madera County since the infamous 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping. Over ten days, prosecutors detailed Guerrero's reign of terror, presenting the DNA evidence that tied him to the victims. The jury convicted him on all counts. In a remarkable display of compassion, the families of the victims, including the survivor Evelyn Estrada, stated that they did not want Guerrero to receive the death penalty. Despite their pleas, in June 2009, a judge sentenced Jose Manuel Guerrero to death.
Today, Guerrero remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison. A moratorium on executions in California, imposed in 2019, has halted his sentence from being carried out. For the family of Julie Ann Woodley, the conviction brought a measure of closure after fourteen years of uncertainty. Though many details of her life remain private, she is remembered as a woman and a mother whose life was stolen, leaving a void in the lives of her children and a scar on the community of Madera. Her case stands as a testament to the power of forensic science and the unwavering pursuit of justice, ensuring that she and the other victims of the Madera Serial Killer are not forgotten.
