Jose Guerrero (born 1973) is an American serial killer and kidnapper who raped and murdered at least three women in Madera, California, from 1995 to 1998. The murders remained unsolved for nearly six years until DNA implicated Guerrero, who was subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in 2009.

Murders

It is believed Guerrero met all of his victims at C street in Madera, an area known for its high percentage of

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

, though not all of his victims were prostitutes. Initially, it was believed that the cases were unrelated to each other until DNA tests in 2004. Guerrero's DNA was linked to three murders and one attempted murder:

Julie Ann Woodley

In the morning hours of April 23, 1995, a farmworker found the body of a woman in an orchard just south of Madera. Sheriff's deputies later arrived and confirmed the body to be Julie Ann Woodley, also known as Julie Ann McDonald. A native of Madera, Woodley was a 42-year-old mother of two, though her children did not live with her. She had last been seen alive the previous night about eight hours before her body was found on Madera's south side. An

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

was conducted on her body, and the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

stated that she had been raped, sodomized and shot.

Evelyn Estrada

On November 28, 1995, 42-year-old Evelyn Estrada reported being kidnapped by a man with a grape knife. She said the man told her everything that he was going to do to her, but when they arrived in a remote location, Estrada was able to fight with the man. During the altercation, the man slashed her throat. She was able to escape and survive the encounter.

Sharlene Fowler

After nearly three years, another rape-murder occurred on July 14, 1998. The body of 30-year-old Sharlene Fowler was found in an orchard. An autopsy concluded that Fowler had been strangled to death.

Tamara Hernandez

In 1998, 22-year-old Tamara Jones Hernandez arrived in Madera to visit family, having come from Eureka, California. On the night of November 22, Hernandez left the family home to buy milk for the children. She never arrived home that night, and later that night her body was found face down in area near Road 23 1⁄2 and Avenue 15 1⁄2.

Arrest

In 1999, Guerrero was arrested for drunk driving. He was later given a prison sentence which would have lasted him at least five years. During his incarceration at Wasco State Prison, Guerrero was overheard bragging about committing multiple violent crimes, including at least three murders. In 2004, shortly before his scheduled release from prison, Guerrero submitted a sample of his DNA to the state's crime lab. In October of that year, the DNA sample confirmed his responsibility in Hernandez' murder. Following this, he was arrested at his jail cell and later charged with the murder. He was extradited to Madera County, where the following year he was charged with the murders of Woodley and Fowler, along with the attempted murder of Estrada. He was linked to these crimes via DNA.

Trial and imprisonment

Guerrero was ruled competent to trial in March 2009. He went to trial the following month; it was the most high-profile case to be prosecuted in Madera County since the

1976 Chowchilla kidnapping The 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping was the abduction of a school bus driver and 26 children, ages 5 to 14, in Chowchilla, California, United States, on July 15, 1976. The kidnappers held their captives in a box truck buried in a quarry in Liverm ...

. The trial lasted ten days, and Guerrero was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. The victims' families stated that, while they were thankful that he was convicted, they did not want Guerrero to be sentenced to death. Estrada also stated that she did not believe he should be killed. In June 2009, Guerrero was sentenced to death. Guerrero was then transferred to

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

to await execution. In 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium which halted all scheduled all executions in the state, so as of today Guerrero is still on death row.

References

External links

CDCR Inmate Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerrero, Jose 1975 births 1995 murders in the United States 1998 murders in the United States 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to death American rapists American serial killers Fugitives Living people People convicted of murder by California Prisoners sentenced to death by California Serial killers from California Violence against women in California